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- By Native News Online Staff
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — On Friday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 18 new positive COVID-19 cases for the Navajo Nation and one more death. The total number of deaths remains 478 as previously reported on Thursday. 6,948 individuals have recovered from COVID-19 and 87,978 COVID-19 tests have been administered. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases is 9,412 and negative tests total 73,735.
Navajo Nation COVID-19 positive cases by Service Unit:
- Chinle Service Unit: 2,270
- Crownpoint Service Unit: 783
- Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 729
- Gallup Service Unit: 1,510
- Kayenta Service Unit: 1,293
- Shiprock Service Unit: 1,471
- Tuba City Service Unit: 903
- Winslow Service Unit: 449
* Four residences with COVID-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.
On Friday, the state of Arizona reported 928 new cases of COVID-19, while New Mexico reported 175 new cases, and Utah reported 522 new cases. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer strongly urge all residents to wear masks, stay home as much as possible, wash hands, practice social distancing, and to avoid large crowds.
“The Navajo Nation has now reached 50 consecutive days with less than 100 daily COVID-19 cases and 15 consecutive days with less than 50. In several states we saw how quickly the virus can re-emerge when they reopened too quickly and without protocols and protections in place. Here on the Navajo Nation we have a comprehensive, well-thought out reopening plan that correlates with CDC guidelines and spells out clear preventative measures that government offices and businesses must adhere to for the safety of everyone. We are not reopening everything all at once, but instead we are taking a phased-in approach. If we see a spike in new cases, we will shut down once again to isolate the spread of the virus,” said President Nez.
The Nez-Lizer Administration introduced the “Navajo Nation Reopening Plan,” which serves as a guide to safely and gradually reopen business on the Navajo Nation. The Plan includes safety-guidelines for Navajo Nation residents to follow through the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, directs places of business to implement COVID-19 policies and procedures meeting certain standards, and provides a color-coded system for progressively reopening business on the Navajo Nation based on data-driven analysis and input from health experts.
The Navajo Nation will have another 32-hour weekend lockdown beginning on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 9:00 p.m. (MDT) until Monday, Aug. 17 at 5:00 a.m. All businesses will be closed for the duration of the weekend lockdown.
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