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Navajo citizens lining up for COVID-19 testing at Monument Valley on Navajo Nation. Courtesy photo

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — On Thursday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 85 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and two more deaths. The total number of deaths reached 324 as of Thursday. Reports from 11 health care facilities on and near the Navajo Nation indicate that approximately 3,414 individuals recovered from COVID-19, with one health care facility report still pending. 47,039 people have been tested for COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation is 6,832.

Here are the Navajo Nation COVID-19 positive cases by Service Unit:

  • Chinle Service Unit: 1,776
  • Crownpoint Service Unit: 622
  • Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 406
  • Gallup Service Unit: 1,156
  • Kayenta Service Unit: 985
  • Shiprock Service Unit: 1,119
  • Tuba City Service Unit: 557
  • Winslow Service Unit: 203

* Eight residences with COVID-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer continue to urge Navajo citizens to remain home as much as possible to avoid another spike in new cases, especially as other areas in the state of Arizona continue to see daily increases in new cases.

"Please do not let your guard down against this monster called the coronavirus. We cannot go back to the way things were until the daily numbers decrease consistently, and until we have a vaccine. We must practice all of the preventative measures to keep our families and communities safe and healthy. It may be hard to accept the changes in our lifestyles, but we have to accept it together and move forward. Don't back down and stay home as much as possible," President Nez said.

The Navajo Police Department and county sheriff departments will establish road checkpoints throughout the Navajo Nation during this weekend’s 57-hour lockdown. Curfew violators who receive a criminal nuisance citation could be fined up to $1,000 and/or up to 30 days in jail. All businesses on the Nation will be closed during the lockdown and all Navajo tribal parks are closed to visitors until further notice.

On Thursday, the Nez-Lizer team distributed food, bottled water, diapers, pet food, protective face masks, and other supplies to 1,110 Navajo families in the communities of Pinon and Fort Defiance in Arizona.


To Donate to the Navajo Nation

The official webpage for donations to the Navajo Nation, which has further details on how to support  the Nation’s Dikos Ntsaaígíí-19 (COVID-19) efforts is:  http://www.nndoh.org/donate.html.


For More Information

For more information including reports, helpful prevention tips, and more resources, please visit the Navajo Department of Health’s COVID-19 website at http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19. To contact the main Navajo Health Command Operations Center, please call (928) 871-7014.

For up to date information on impact the coronavirus pandemic is having in the United States and around the world go to: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/?fbclid=IwAR1vxfcHfMBnmTFm6hBICQcdbV5aRnMimeP3hVYHdlxJtFWdKF80VV8iHgE

For up-to-date information about COVID-19, Native News Online encourages you to go to Indian Health Service’s COVID-19 webpage and review CDC’s COVID-19 webpage. 

 

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