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San Diego County officials had opposed the casino’s plans to reopen, but by late last week said they recognized tribal nations’ sovereign rights and would not stand in their way.
- SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — Viejas Casino and Resort reopened its doors Monday and three other casinos are expected to follow suit this week in San Diego County. The casino in Alpine — as well as others.
- The Viejas Casino & Resort was the first of several popular casinos in the San Diego area to open this week. Last week, Win-River Resort & Casino in Redding was the first tribal casino to reopen.
Friday, October 16, 2020
By Camille von Kaenel / inewsource, Jennifer Bowman / inewsource
Photo by Zoë Meyers / inewsource
Above: Two visitors wear face shields and masks while at a card table at the Sycuan Casino in East County, Aug. 14, 2020.
As many businesses remained under orders to stay closed during the coronavirus pandemic, tribes in San Diego County bucked recommendations from outside leaders and reopened their casinos with measures designed to limit the spread of illness.
It’s unclear if the gamble paid off.
Aired 10/16/20 on KPBS News
Listen to this story by Camille Von Kaenel of iNewsource.
Public health officials have confirmed that more than 300 of the county’s residents who contracted COVID-19 reported visiting a casino shortly before testing positive.
But the county won’t disclose whether any community outbreaks occurred at local casinos because they’re on tribal lands. The tribal governments have released little information and aren’t subject to federal and state disclosure laws as sovereign entities.
That means local outbreaks potentially are being left out of a metric the county considers in reopening decisions. Already, San Diego fails to stay under the threshold for outbreaks set by public health officials.
The casinos began reopening in May with new cleaning, social distancing and face covering policies, but some of their employees have raised concerns.
In late August, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an investigation into Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center following a complaint. The case remains open and no further public details are available.
The casino also is involved in a lawsuit brought by its former general manager, who says he was so concerned about health risks from reopening that he had no choice but to quit.
Over the past two months, inewsource visited seven of the county’s nine tribal casinos. At each establishment, workers used handheld devices, thermal cameras or body scanners to check body temperatures of people entering the casinos.
Some casinos have disabled every other slot machine to enforce social distancing and have shut down some table games. Attendants at table games that remain open wear protective gear, and some casinos have installed plexiglass barriers.
Many, but not all, indoor restaurants and food courts have fully reopened. Guests are allowed to pull down their face coverings when drinking, eating or smoking.
Each business had varying levels of enforcement and open activities. Pala Casino Spa Resort in North County, for example, has reduced its transportation program but continues to bus in guests from throughout Southern California. Online it’s selling tickets to concerts.
Employees at three of the county’s casinos said the new protocols aren’t always followed. inewsource agreed not to name them because they feared losing their jobs.
Mask policies are difficult to enforce with guests, they said, and crowds can form around table games and slot machines despite social distancing efforts. Some said their management isn’t providing them any information about cases linked to their workplace.
One employee at the Sycuan Casino Resort in East County said she prays for her health before each shift.
“I cannot just let my job go because I’m scared,” she said. “I’m scared, but I’m there. I need the money. If I don’t have the job, I can’t afford my house. Then I’ll be living on the streets with my kids.”
With the exception of Sycuan, casino officials declined to comment for this story, did not respond or referred a reporter to safety policies posted online. In a May 8 letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, county Supervisor Greg Cox and other officials, eight of the gaming tribes explained their decision to reopen, saying they believed they could ensure the well being of guests and employees and scale back if needed.
They also reminded the officials that the casinos are a “lifeline” for funding essential tribal government operations including police, fire, healthcare, education, housing and environmental protections.
Juggling economic, safety concerns
In mid-August, when an inewsource reporter was invited to tour Sycuan with a casino official, once-furloughed employees rehired as “safety agents” walked the floor reminding guests to cover their faces and provided a mask if they didn’t have one.
Most complied. One maskless woman waved the offer away and kept walking, despite prodding.
It was the first day of a new self-imposed rule requiring robust masks following research suggesting bandanas, gaiters and coverings with valves were less effective at limiting the spread of coronavirus respiratory droplets. The Barona, Viejas and Valley View casinos have adopted similar policies.
Harrahs Casino San Diego Reopening
Eddie Ilko, Sycuan’s safety manager, said the mask policies have been a “learning curve” for guests and employees. He said the casino has worked with tribal regulatory officials and leaders to adapt as the pandemic continues.
Ilko said he feels safe on the casino floor because of the measures.
“We're safer because a lot of the history Indian Country has had, so we've had to be above and beyond whatever the local and state regulations are,” he said.
Some of the casinos have posted online that they are hiring. In their letter to Newsom and other officials about reopening, the casinos said they support “tens of thousands” of San Diegans economically.
Tribal casinos generated $4.4 billion in direct and indirect economic spending in Southern California in 2014, according to the latest available report from the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. They directly employed 24,100 people.
The casinos’ financial losses from the roughly two months they were closed when Newsom ordered businesses to shut down aren’t publicly known.
But in California, preliminary figures show employment by gambling industries dropped 41% in the state from March through August. Employment by Indian tribes, including at casinos they manage directly, dropped by 14% during the same period.
Since the casinos reopened, county public health officials say 112 employees and 196 patrons
with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses visited a local casino within 14 days of their illness. The 308 cases are as of Oct. 5 and include three people who died.
Ninety-one of the cases have been reported since Sept. 1.
County public health officials stress that a person’s presence at a casino during the potential exposure period does not mean that’s where they got the virus. Officials also haven’t made any definitive connections between a casino employee and a patron, county spokesperson Sarah Sweeney said.
Whether any of the cases amounted to a community outbreak is unknown.
Throughout the county, public health officials have identified 47 community outbreaks in the past week, with 17 of them reported on Wednesday. Since March 25, the county has recorded 406 outbreaks.
The state defines an outbreak at a workplace as three or more probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases that are linked but from different households. Outbreaks are one of 13 metrics local public health officials consider when setting reopening policies, along with case rates, hospitalizations, contact tracing and other factors.
County officials have generally refused to name any specific business or location when identifying community outbreaks, instead providing a running total and grouping them into categories such as restaurants, grocery stores and private residences. The Voice of San Diego, KPBS and The San Diego Union-Tribune have sued for the information.
In addition to excluding outbreaks on tribal lands, the county also excludes those on military land.
Even without counting any community outbreaks at casinos, the county for months has exceeded the threshold local public health officials set. They have said they could take action if more than seven new outbreaks occur within a week, regardless of other state metrics.
Despite consistently failing to meet the outbreak metric, the county hasn’t scaled back reopening even as the number of community outbreaks spike. Officials instead are relying on what the state weighs in its criteria: case rate and test positivity.
Casino employees get few COVID-19 details
Casinos have varied in their decisions to share COVID-19 case numbers with workers.
Sycuan employees told inewsource they regularly receive reports about personnel who have tested positive and how many have recovered and returned to work. But employees at Harrah’s said they haven’t received any official communications and have only learned about possible cases through word of mouth or if a supervisor told them they had come into contact with someone who tested positive.
A Harrah’s worker said he spoke with his wife about how they would quarantine away from each other in case he contracted the virus after working a busy Labor Day weekend.
“It’s not the kind of thing where I feel like I’m in immediate danger, but I definitely feel like my health has been compromised,” he said.
Tribes are generally protective of their data, including during the pandemic, said Vanesscia Cresci, research and public health director at the California Rural Indian Health Board.
She said she knows tribal members in other areas of the country who have received racist backlash from surrounding communities after their COVID-19 cases were publicized.
“We don't publicly report it either because we are also very respectful of tribal sovereignty, and if they choose to report it that's up to them,” Cresci said.
In response to the pandemic, the county has signed memorandums of understanding with three of the region’s 17 tribal governments: Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, Pala Band of Mission Indians and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians.
The three tribes and the county agreed to share information about infectious diseases and outbreaks. The agreements also name a public health officer for each tribe, one of whom is a fire chief, another a risk management director and another a tribal chairman.
A county spokesperson said officials expect to finalize agreements with all of the tribes.
inewsource is an independent investigative journalism organization embedded in the KPBS newsroom. It is a nonprofit 501(c)3 supported by foundations, philanthropists and its own separate membership base.
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By Miriam Raftery
File photo: Sycuan Casino
Updated May 14 with additional information from County Public Health Officer Wilima Wooten
May 13, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Following Viejas’ announced plans to reopen its casino on May 18, Sycuan and Valley View casinos have unveiled plans to reopen on May 19 and 21. All are on Native American reservations, and each has detailed plans for modifications aimed at protecting safety of the public and guests including face masks, sanitation procedures and social distancing.
However in a press conference today, San Diego County Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten voiced concerns and indicated that the county does not agree with the casinos’ reopening plans. “If. they do open and ignore our request not to open, then we would definitely have to ensure that they put stringent practices in place to help protect the public health. But opening up casinos will cause a risk to our public health. That is very clear; it creates gatherings of individuals,” she stated.
Later she indicated the county has reached out to the federal government to potentially block the casinos from reopening, NPR reports.
Tribal reservations are considered sovereign nations that make their own laws, however state and federal officials do have some powers to intervene if public health is at risk. It remains to be seen whether authorities will allow the casino openings to proceed, or take steps to require modifications or prevent openings.
Casinos provide the primary source of revenue for many tribes as well as employment for tribal members and other workers. All local casinos have been closed since mid- to late-March, depending on the venue.
Sycuan spokesman Adam Day reacted to Dr. Wooten’s remarks. “It’s unfortunate the public health officer chose a press conference to share her concerns, as we informed her of our robust plan nearly a week ago and we have yet to her a response from her or her office,” NBC 7 reports.
Sycuan published a detailed description of its plans for sanitation, social distancing and other health/safety measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread on its website. According to the site Sycuan has partnered with the San Diego-based TruClean company, which has sprayed its antimicrobial-based coating throughout the casino and resort. The coating is internationally registered as a long-term disinfectant that reportedly controls bacteria, viruses, fungi and mold.
Other health protective measures include limiting table games to three players and using only every other slot machine, using plexiglass shields, thermal cameras at entrnces and more. Tribal chairman Cody J.Martinez says Sycuan is doing “everything we can to protect our guests and team members for our reopening.”
The reopening, set to occur in stages, will keep some areas closed during phase one including the resort’s spa, pool and cabanas. There will be no valet parking or room service, though restaurants are set to offer limited dine-in and to-go service, NBC reports.
Valley View Casino in Valley Center has not detailed its health and safety plan online, except to indicate that guests will wear masks and can expect a more “spacious” ambience in the casino, hotel and restaurants.
When Will San Diego Casino Reopen
Viejas Casino & Resort plans to add new cleaning protocols including hospital grade UVC germicidal technology. All employees and guests will have non-contact temperature scans before entering.
The Jamul Casino website states that safety measures and club improvements are “coming soon” but does not list a reopen date. The tribe provided pay and benefits for workers through April 11 after its March 20 closure, with healthcare benefits through the end of May. The Casino’s restaurants are offering pre-packaged meal kits to prepare at home during the closure.
Chairwoman Erica M. Pinto states, on the Casino website, “We are deeply saddened that we have reached the point of having to make these difficult decisions, but they have become unavoidable given the uncertainty we face as to when we will be able to reopen our business. We have and will continue to do everything in our power to create the best possible outcome for our team members, and we look forward to welcoming them back very soon.”
The Campo tribe’s Golden Acorn Casino remains closed, with no mention of reopening on its websites. However its gas station and convenience store remain open.
Barona Resort & Casino has furloughed workers since April 20 and remains closed until further notice, continuing to monitor federal, state and local health updates. The tribe has announced plans to cancel its annual summer's end powwow.
Harrah’s Rincon in Valley Center remains closed until further notice, with shows cancelled through June.
Casino Pauma in North County has been closed since March 15 with no reopening yet announced Pala Casino also remains closed.
Miriam Raftery, editor and founder of East County Magazine, has over 35 years of journalism experience. She has won more than 350 journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club, and the American Society of Journalists & Authors. Her honors include the Sol Price Award for responsible journalism and three James Julian awards for public interest reporting from SPJ’s San Diego chapter. She has received top honors for investigative journalism, multicultural reporting, coverage of immigrant and refugee issues, politics, breaking news and more. Thousands of her articles have appeared in national and regional publications.
East County Magazine gratefully thanks the Facebook Journalism Project for support through its COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program to help make this reporting possible. #FacebookJournalismProject. You can donate to support our local journalism efforts during the pandemic at https://www.EastCountyMedia.org/donate.