Indian Health Service officials said Tuesday that their agency's clinical sites can administer COVID-19 tests and that tribes will receive $40 million from Congress to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) operates within the Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for providing medical care and services to members of federally recognized Native American tribes, according to its website.

There were nine confirmed coronavirus cases in Montana as of Monday evening, and IHS officials reported on Tuesday that there are three IHS patients who are presumed positive for COVID-19. They live in Portland, the Navajo area and the Great Plains area.

Jillian Curtis, IHS director of the office of finance and accounting, said that the $40 million in funding is eligible for distribution among tribes, urban Indian organizations and other tribal programs.

"This is not a step we've seen in previous emergencies," she said. "I think it shows Congress recognized there are specific needs for tribes. Overall, I think this is a really positive outcome for Indian Country and that congress is hearing directly from tribes."

IHS Chief Medical Officer Rear Adm. Michael Toedt said that "the potential public health threat posed by COVID-19 is very high." He also said one IHS facility in New Mexico has implemented drive-through testing.

Toedt said IHS has 33 ICU beds and 1,254 hospital beds but added that the numbers may be slightly higher.

"We can see a scenario where the needs outstrip our resources," he said, adding that there have been worldwide shortages of testing materials and protective equipment.

Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, encouraged people to practice social distancing and hand hygiene to keep community members who may be at a higher risk safe.

"The people who are at highest risk are our elders, people over the age of 70 or 80, as are people with heart, lung and kidney disease and those who have diabetes," he said, adding that the goal is to spread the impact of the pandemic over a long period of time so as not to overwhelm the health care system.

"We all stand in this together. It may be virtually or 6 feet apart, but it takes all of us to be able to address a problem like this," Butler said.

IHS representatives said the Indian Country COVID-19 response team is part of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force.

More:Everything you need to know about how tribes are handling COVID-19

Montana lawmakers urged IHS and other federal agencies to ensure tribal members have access to services and facilities amid growing concerns of the coronavirus last week. Lawmakers were especially focused on ensuring members of the Little Shell Tribe had access to facilities and services, given their recent federal recognition status.

Sen. Jon Tester and Gov. Steve Bullock, both Democrats, sent a letter to the IHS director.

"With the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus, it is critically important that access and affordability are not barriers to seeking medical attention or getting tested for COVID-19," the letter reads.

More:Montana lawmakers urge IHS to extend services to Little Shell Tribe amid COVID-19

Republican Sen. Steve Daines also advocated on tribal members' behalf.

"This is their first emergency since becoming a federally recognized tribe and they will need help navigating the federal bureaucracy to access the resources they will need," Daines wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Nora Mabie covers Indigenous communities for the Great Falls Tribune. She can be reached at nmabie@greatfallstribune.com.

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