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- By Levi Rickert
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation has 174 confirmed cases of coronavirus, an increase of 26 from Monday, the Navajo Nation reported Tuesday evening.
As of Tuesday, two more people have died due to complications from COVID-19 in the Navajo Nation, bringing the tribal nation’s death toll to seven.
“We are very sorry to hear of the loss of more lives due to the virus – we offer our prayers for the families of those who lost loved ones. In a few parts of the country, they are beginning to see a slight decline in new cases and it’s due to more and more residents staying home and practicing social distancing. Here on the Navajo Nation, we need everyone to fully grasp the importance of social distancing and the impact it has on fighting the spread of COVID-19. It’s completely up to us as individuals to do our part to beat the virus,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said.
The 174 cases include the following counties:
Navajo County, AZ: 85
Apache County, AZ: 17
Coconino County, AZ: 40
McKinley County, NM: 10
San Juan County, NM: 15
Cibola County, NM: 1
San Juan County, UT: 6
The curfew that began on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. and ended on Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m. remains in effect nightly until further notice.
On Tuesday, President Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer continued to work with Federal Emergency Management Agency - Region 9 officials in Chinle, Ariz. to assess the best locations for federal medical stations. FEMA recently delivered beds, PPE’s, and other equipment to Chinle for the possible housing of patients.
“We know that many elders need to purchase essential items on the first of the month, but we want them to take every precaution possible to keep themselves and others safe. We have a team that will be out at every grocery store on the Navajo Nation to help these efforts,” stated Vice President Lizer.
Each store location will have informational and food distribution sites for elders that were coordinated by the Navajo Department of Health, Navajo Nation Division of Social Services, and the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development. There will also be law enforcement presence to help regulate the flow of traffic.
The Public Health Order outlines provisions for essential businesses as well. Everyone is encouraged to read the entire Public Health Order, which is available on the Navajo Department of Health website at: http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19.
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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