Spirit Lake Reservation Enacts Face Mask Mandate

BENSON CO., N.D. — Tribal leaders on the Spirit Lake Reservation are requiring people to wear masks to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

It’s a rare move in a state where face coverings have not been mandated despite a steady increase in overall cases.

The reservation is located primarily in Benson County which has seen the state’s most new cases per capita in the last two weeks.

Area public health workers are worried about the trend after seeing the number of positive tests jump from 16 to 70 since the middle of July.