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- By Native News Online Staff
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — On Wednesday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 45 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and six more deaths. The total number of deaths has reached 431 as of Wednesday.
Reports indicate that approximately 6,456 individuals have recovered from COVID-19. 75,177 people have been tested for COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation is 8,684.
Navajo Nation COVID-19 positive cases by Service Unit:
· Chinle Service Unit: 2,167
· Crownpoint Service Unit: 740
· Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 592
· Gallup Service Unit: 1,423
· Kayenta Service Unit: 1,217
· Shiprock Service Unit: 1,364
· Tuba City Service Unit: 802
· Winslow Service Unit: 376
* Three residences with COVID-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.
On Wednesday, Navajo Nation President Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer signed Executive Order No. 008-20 on Wednesday, extending the Navajo Nation’s declaration of a state of emergency and the closure of Navajo Nation government offices and entities from July 27, 2020 to Aug. 16, 2020. The decision to extend the order was based on the recommendations of health care experts and data from the states of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona and nearby cities that show increases in COVID-19 cases.
“We are doing our very best to keep our Navajo Nation residents safe and healthy using the information, input, and data from our health care experts. When this pandemic reached the United States, the Navajo Nation was able to keep the COVID-19 virus out of our Nation for quite some time while surrounding states were being impacted. Now, we are in a similar situation where we are seeing a consistent flattening of the curve, 27 consecutive days of 50 cases or less, while the data from the states of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona show large daily increases. Let’s keep fighting COVID-19 by staying home, wearing masks, washing our hands, social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings,” President Nez said.
The Navajo Nation will have another 57-hour weekend lockdown beginning on Friday, July 24 at 8:00 p.m. until Monday, July 27 at 5:00 a.m. All businesses on the Navajo Nation will be closed for the duration of the weekend lockdown.
On Tuesday, the state of Arizona reported 1,926 new cases of COVID-19, while New Mexico reported 316 new cases, and Utah reported 566 new cases. The Department of Health and the Health Command Operations Center is also preparing for the upcoming winter flu season, which will present more challenges, as well as a vaccination plan once a COVID-19 vaccine is proven to be safe and made available.
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. 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, visit the Worldometers website.
For up-to-date information about COVID-19, Native News Online encourages you to go to Indian Health Service’s COVID-19 webpage.
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