Editor’s Note: On Wednesday night, July 8, The Progress published a story on our website about the closure of the Paiute Travel Plaza due to a COVID-19 outbreak among employees. Though we gave opportunity for Plaza management and tribal leaders to comment on that story, they were unavailable for immediate comment. But due to, what we felt was, an urgency regarding public health of our community, we published the story anyway to keep our readership informed of the possible health risks.
The following day, The Progress was contacted by Tribal representatives insisting that they had wanted their side to be heard. Wishing only to get to the truth, we were eager to facilitate that. We agreed, at that time, to pull the story from our website for a time to allow for a telephone meeting where tribal leaders could make a statement that would tell their side of the story. But in that meeting, held Thursday night, tribal leaders made the firm decision that they would refuse to release any statement or clarifying explanation to the newspaper about the matter.
Tribal leaders subsequently released a lengthy statement to tribal members only, explaining many of the points that had appeared in our earlier story. This written statement from the Tribe was forwarded to The Progress over the following day by multiple tribal members acting independently.
With a desire to fairly tell both sides of this story, The Progress has used that extensive statement to revise the previously published article. The following is the result which we feel is a more balanced news story that better serves our readership.
By VERNON ROBISON & NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
The Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza at the Interstate 15 Valley of Fire exit, was abruptly closed on Monday, July 6. A sign posted on the door of the building stated that the facility was closed to allow for a deep cleaning following the busy July 4th weekend. But an internal statement, released late last week by Moapa Band Tribal leaders and signed by Tribal Chairwoman Laura Parry, informed Tribal members that there was more to the closure than just sanitizing.
The statement, which was sent out to all tribal members on the reservation on Friday night, indicated that the Plaza was closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak among employees over the past couple of weeks.
According to the statement, a Plaza employee who works in the restaurant, reported to work feeling sick on June 29. The employee was sent to the Reservation Clinic for testing where her results came back positive within an hour, the statement said.
The restaurant was immediately closed and restaurant employees, as well as other employees in contact with the infected employee that day, were also sent for testing, according to the statement.
“The restaurant was disinfected and cleaned, and the management decided that (it) would remain closed until after the 4th of July holiday,” the statement read.
Two more restaurant employees came up positive in their tests for COVID-19 in the days following, the Tribal statement said.
Amid all of these measures, the Plaza facility, with the exception of the restaurant area, remained open for business, the statement said.
“The Moapa Band of Paiutes celebrated the 4th of July with thousands of people from the Las Vegas valley and surrounding areas attending our outdoor venue to watch the fireworks display,” the statement read. “The Tribe and our employees worked hard to maintain a clean and safe environment for customers…”
On Monday, July 6, the Tribe learned that two more Plaza employees had tested positive for COVID-19, the tribal statement said.
At that time, “…the Tribal Council requested that the Travel Plaza be completely shut down until several steps were completed to protect our customers as well as our employees,” the statement said.
According to the statement, a professional cleaning company was contracted to do a deep cleaning of the entire facility.
On Wednesday, July 8, a National Guard detachment was present at the Plaza to perform COVID-19 testing for all Plaza employees.
“All employees will be tested for the COVID-19 before the Tribe resumes operations at the Travel Plaza,” the statement reads. “The safety of our customers and our employees is the Moapa Travel Plaza Management’s number one priority.”
The statement from Tribal leaders outlined a long list of additional measures that had been taken by the tribe in recent weeks to protect employees and customers throughout the outbreak.
But a number of employees and tribal members who independently contacted The Progress over the past two weeks, all stated that they were dissatisfied with the way that the incident had been handled. All of these sources spoke only on condition that they remain anonymous, stating that they feared losing their jobs if they were exposed.
Perhaps the most consistent complaint among these anonymous sources was a lack of reliable communication from management. The Tribal statement had claimed that a memo had been posted in all Plaza departments to inform employees of what the conditions were. But many of the sources said that they had not seen the memo and no special attention was called to it.
That “isn’t justifiable when you are dealing with people and the public health,” one source said. “It is just laziness and non-communication with employees. I have a right as a person to know whether or not somebody that I work with, or somebody that I have been around, has been exposed to the virus. That is my right. And I was not notified (until much later). That is what I mean about communication: there isn’t any.”
Many of the anonymous sources also said they did not feel safe while working the busy weekend. Some cashier areas at the Plaza had been equipped with plexiglass screens. But many others had nothing, they said. Employees working in those areas were assigned to work long shifts, interacting directly with the public, with no real protection, the sources added.
In addition, the huge crowd that showed up during the holiday weekend was not observing safe social distancing and face-covering protocols, the sources said.
The sources who worked the weekend confirmed that the large tent where fireworks were being sold was usually being restricted to only 50 customers at a time. But a long line of customers snaked around the building waiting to get in.
Space markers had been placed on the ground along the queue to encourage people to social distance while in line, sources said. But the markers were not being observed by the crowd.
“No one was following social distancing!” one source said. “It was shoulder to shoulder. People were without masks. It was a mess!”
Some of the sources confirmed that the Plaza had, for quite a while, been conducting regular temperature checks on employees as they began their shifts. They also confirmed that employees were being required to wear masks while at work.
The Tribal statement said that, as rumors of the outbreak had circulated among employees, Travel Plaza Management had instituted a Pre-Shift Daily Questionaire for employees asking about each employee’s health conditions before each shift.
In order to address any employee fears of losing their jobs if they tested positive, the questionaire stated: “Any employee who is asked to submit to COVID-19 testing and is required to stay home for quarantine or due to sickness from COVID-19 will keep their job and will be paid for their time off.”
Unfortunately this did not provide any comfort to employees who had not tested positive but were still fearful for their own safety, and that of their family members at home, one source said. Everyone was required to come in to work during the holiday weekend or lose their job, the source said.
Many of the anonymous sources expressed disappointment in how they felt their health and safety was disregarded.
“I’m ashamed of my council,” one of them said. “They put money over lives here. It breaks my heart because so many people have been exposed, especially the employees and temporary employees – like the kids who were working out there just for the firework sales. The Council needs to be held responsible.”
Tribal Council members and Plaza Management refused to make any statement last week in response to the complaints from the anonymous sources.
