Credit Wikipedia
#15,231
While most of the COVID-19 headlines in the United States have sprung from the big cities on the east and west coast, interior America has not gone untouched, and yesterday the Governor of New Mexico - Michelle Lujan Grisham - invoked the state's riot control act to effectively seal off the little town of Gallup (pop 22k) due to the rising number of cases there.
This emergency order automatically ends on Monday - after 72 hours - unless the Governor decides to extend it.Excerpts from the Governor's Press release follows:
Governor authorizes Gallup lockdown
May 1, 2020 | Press Releases
SANTA FE – In response to an emergency request from the mayor of Gallup, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham at 12 p.m. on Friday invoked the state’s Riot Control Act, authorizing her to enact further temporary restrictions to mitigate the uninhibited spread of COVID-19 in that city. The authorizing executive order can be found here.
Effective at 12 p.m., May 1, all roads into Gallup are closed. Businesses in the city of Gallup will close from 5 p.m. through 8 a.m. Vehicles may only have a maximum of two individuals. Residents of the city should remain at home except for emergency outings and those essential for health, safety and welfare.
Gallup city police and McKinley County sheriff’s department will partner with New Mexico State Police and Department of Transportation to enforce the emergency order and road closures. The New Mexico National Guard will also provide support to this effort in a non-law enforcement capacity.
Both outgoing Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney and new Mayor Louis Bonaguidi, who was sworn into office 2:30 p.m., April 30, requested the governor declare a state of emergency under the Riot Control Act, 12-10-16 to 12-10-21 NMSA 1978. Those mayoral letters can be found here and here.
Any state of emergency proclaimed under the Riot Control Act, along with any restrictions imposed for control of that emergency, terminates automatically at noon on the third day after it becomes effective unless sooner terminated by proclamation of the governor. The Gallup emergency is effective immediately and will expire at noon on Monday, May 4.
The Riot Control Act authorizes the governor to, for the temporary existence of a state of emergency, prohibit persons being on public streets and the use of certain streets and highways, among other broad emergency restrictions.
Because of the extreme heightened risk of transmission in the northwestern region of the state, McKinley County – along with neighboring San Juan and Cibola counties – remain subject to the Secretary of Health’s public health order of April 11. Moderate easings incorporated in the modified public health order effective Friday, May 1, do not apply in those counties.
“I recognize this request is unusual and constitutes a drastic measure, and the emergency powers set out under the Riot Control Act should be invoked sparingly,” said Mayor Bonaguidi. “However, the COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Gallup is a crisis of the highest order. Immediate action is necessary.”
(SNIP)
Under the Riot Control Act, anyone who fails to comply with restrictions imposed under the act is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense is guilty of a fourth-degree felony.
“The spread of this virus in McKinley County is frightful,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham, “and it shows that physical distancing has not occurred and is not occurring. The virus is running amok there. It must be stopped, and stricter measures are necessary. A problem in one part of our state, with a virus this dangerous and this contagious, is a problem for our entire state.
“The imperative for all of us to remain home and physically distant has not changed. It is even more crucial for New Mexicans in the northwestern region. But what is happening in the northwest could happen in any part of our state. We must remain vigilant.”
McKinley County as of Thursday had reported 1,027 positive cases of COVID-19, more than 30 percent of the state’s total positive COVID-19 cases and the most positive cases in the entire state, outstripping even far more populous counties. Its infection trend has shown no sign of flattening. The county has reported an additional 207 positive cases in the last two days alone, more than every other county in the state has reported total over the length of the pandemic save three.
Immortalized in Bobby Troup's classic song (Get your Kicks) On Route 66 ("You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, NM") - Gallup is the largest city between Flagstaff and Albuquerque on that most famous of American highways.
Route 66 isn't what it used to be, but it - and the tiny town of Gallup, NM - hold a special place in the hearts of those of us who were lucky enough to make that California trip during its heyday.The fact that small-town America can see this kind of COVID-19 transmission should remind us that this virus can flare and spread anywhere.
