The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Lake County have joined to fight COVID-19 by creating a Unified Command Center, which is authorized to address the coronavirus threat in our community.
The Unified Command Center will combine and organize county and tribal resources to be more effective in the prevention of the pandemic.
Both the Tribal Council and the Lake County Commissioners voted to create the Unified Command Center and both governing bodies turned over authority to two Incident Commanders to lead the team.
Bob McCrea, a veteran firefighter, and Mark Clary, emergency manager for the county, will lead a team made of both tribal and county workers including medical staff, planners, financial experts, and operations managers.
“We’re stronger together than we are as individual governments,” said Shelly R. Fyant, Tribal Council Chairwoman. “This is the best way to keep everyone in our community safer.”
“Our two great governments are teaming together for the sole purpose of keeping our loved ones safe,” Lake County Commission Chair Bill Barron, a former Lake County Sheriff, added.
Lake County health officials reported their first confirmed case of COVID-19 late Thursday. Additionally, CSKT issued a shelter in place order for the Flathead Reservation on Friday morning.
