L
aguna Development Corp has announced that Route 66 Casino Hotel will close for at least the next two weeks, citing a climbing number of Covid-19 cases among employees.
The company which runs the casino for the Pueblo of Laguna said in a news release that most of the employee cases came from exposure outside of work.
The casino closed officially at 5 p.m. Sunday. Route 66 employees will continue to receive pay and benefits during the casino’s hiatus, according to a news release.
“The increases in virus infections throughout New Mexico and the increase we saw as a result of mandatory employee testing this past week, encouraged us to exercise an abundance of caution to close down operations,” said Laguna Development Corp. President and CEO Maxine Velasquez in a statement. “We will thoroughly sanitize and clean the entire Route 66 facility during the closure. We will also remind every employee, their family, and friends to demonstrate Covid-safe practices at home and at work. None of us can let our guard down.”
Velasquez added that the decision to temporarily close the casino was agreed to by Pueblo of Laguna Governor Wilfred Herrera and the Pueblo and its emergency operations command.
“LDC has done an extraordinary job of adhering to the health and safety protocols over the last four months of reduced operations. That is why our positive cases have remained low. However, infections in the region are flaring and our top priority remains protecting the health of our community and doing our part to minimize the spread of the virus,” Herrera said in a statement. “The Pueblo will continue to work with LDC and other public health agencies to do everything we possibly can to minimize the impact of this pandemic on our employees, guests, and Laguna Pueblo.”
New Mexico announced 732 new Covid-19 cases and nine additional deaths on Monday. About 31% of New Mexico’s 42,586 total positive Covid-19 cases have come since Oct. 1, according to state data.
Route 66 made the decision to reopen in June after it had been shut down since mid-March when New Mexico registered its first positive tests for the coronavirus. The casino opened under conditions that mandated masks, restricted capacity, and visitors having their temperature screened upon entry, among others. The reopening brought back more than 500 of its 746 employees.
Between late June — after it re-opened — and Oct. 22, Laguna said only eight positive cases were detected among employees.
Route 66’s decision to temporarily close comes weeks after Santa Ana Star Casino re-opened with similar conditions to Route 66 and Isleta Resort & Casino, the latter of which has been re-open since June.
Sandia Resort & Casino have been closed since mid-March.
The Pueblo of Laguna casinos rank fifth on Albuquerque Business First’s List of tribal casinos, with $84.59 million in net win in 2019.