Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
The Gila River Indian Community confirmed two positive COVID-19 cases on the evening of March 23, 2020. One patient is a Gila River citizen and the other is a citizen of “another federally recognized tribe,” according to a press release.
In a video posted on the evening of March 23, Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis and Dr. Anthony Santiago, interim chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Gila River Health Care, discussed the testing that occurred and the steps the tribe is taking to address the coronavirus on the reservation in Arizona.
The tribe has conducted 39 tests with 2 positive results so far, Governor Lewis said. Dr. Santiago said more positive cases are likely.
The tribe has set up a coronavirus page at: http://grhc.org/coronavirus/