Gallup Under Lockdown For Three Days

Above, downtown Gallup at night. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Due to the high number of coronavirus cases, the city of Gallup is under lockdown this weekend at the request of the city's outgoing mayor.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham granted the mayor's request.

The Navajo Times reported:

Outgoing mayor of Gallup, Jack McKinney, has asked New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to allow a lockdown of the city. 

“I respectfully ask that you declare a state of emergency pursuant within the boundaries of the city of Gallup,” McKinney wrote in an April 30 letter to Gov. Grisham. “This request is being made as a result of COVID-19 outbreak in our community, which constitutes an unprecedented heath crisis.” 

McKinney, in the letter, said the governor could invoke the Riot Control Act due to the outbreak of the virus being a “crisis of the highest order.” 

“The virus has caused many deaths, stretched medical facilities and resources to their capacity, and adversely impacted the welfare of the city of Gallup, “ McKinney said. 

The number of confirmed cases in McKinley County, as of Thursday, has reached 1,027 with 19 deaths, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.

Much of the Navajo Nation is in McKinley County and there's been a high number of cases of coronavirus in the Nation.

Checkpoints are being set up on the main roads into the city.

LOCKDOWN PERIOD: Starting at noon on Friday, May 1, all roads into Gallup are closed. Gallup businesses will close from 5 p.m. through 8 a.m. and vehicles may only have a maximum of two individuals. [Source: KRQE]

Thankfully, I have plenty of food and supplies, so I don't have any need to go into Gallup. I live 19 miles east of Gallup.

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