Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr. has issued a tribal-wide Safer at Home Order. The order went into effect July 21 and will remain in effect until further notice. The order, which comes as Florida deals with surging COVID-19 cases, highly recommends that everyone living on Seminole reservations remain at home and limit movement beyond their property. The order describes essential activities as including, but not limited to, trips to the grocery store and to get fuel as well as exercise, medical visits and work.

The order includes a mandatory mask requirement in public spaces on all reservations. The order also states that anyone who is on the reservations and tribal properties is required to wear masks in government buildings, commercial buildings and houses of worship.

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 10. Five days later the Tribal Council declared a tribal-wide emergency closing. The government’s critical and essential services have remained operational.

Some venues and businesses on the reservations remain closed while others are open with limitations. In Big Cypress, the Ah-Tah-Ti-Ki Museum, Billie Swamp Safari and Swamp Water Café are closed. Sadie’s restaurant and The Landings general store are open.

The RV resorts in BC and Brighton are open with some amenity restrictions.

Also in Brighton, the Trading Post is open and the Subway restaurant next door is open with limited tables available for seating.

Hollywood’s Trading Post and smoke shops are open.

The Tribe’s gaming properties and hotels in Florida were closed March 20; all have since reopened except Seminole Hotel & Casino Immokalee. Guests and workers are required to wear masks as part of Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International’s Safe and Sound program, which includes temperature screenings, physical distancing and mandatory masks.