PINE RIDGE, S.D. — The Oglala Sioux Tribe has locked down its South Dakota reservation for three days to stop the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Tribal President Julian Bear Runner ordered the 72-hour lockdown prohibiting nonessential travel to or from the reservation through Thursday. The population of the reservation is 32,152, according to the Department of the Interior.

The Rapid City Journal says all tribal employees have been placed on administrative leave except for emergency personnel.

The Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux have been at odds with Republican Gov. Kristi Noem over highway checkpoints on their reservations. Noem demanded that the tribes remove the checkpoints from federal and state highways, calling them illegal.

The tribes began monitoring their borders several months ago to stop unnecessary visitors who could be carrying the coronavirus.