The Navajo Nation 

Office of the President and Vice President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2020

115 reported cases of COVID-19 for Navajo Nation

WINDOW ROCK – Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer were informed by the Navajo Department of Health and Navajo Area Indian Health Service, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center, that the number of positive tests for COVID-19 has reached a total of 115 for the Navajo Nation as of Saturday. As reported on Friday, there are two confirmed two deaths related to COVID-19. 

The 115 cases include the following counties:

• Navajo County, AZ: 57
• Apache County, AZ: 18
• Coconino County, AZ: 19
• McKinley County, NM: 6
• San Juan County, NM: 12
• Cibola County, NM: 1
• San Juan County, UT: 2

President Nez will host an online town hall meeting on Sunday, March 29 at 1:00 p.m. (DST) through Facebook and KTNN AM 660 to provide important updates on response efforts, number of cases, and supply needs. Under the advisement of health care and emergency experts, President Nez will also announce the implementation of a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. daily for the entire Navajo Nation that will go into effect on Monday morning. 

“We’ve reached a point where our medical facilities and health care workers are in dire need of more Personal Protective Equipment, hospital beds, and other critical resources and it’s only going to increase if people continue to ignore orders to stay home as much as possible,” said President Nez. 

The Navajo Nation’s needs for personnel, protective wear, hospital beds, and other crucial resources and supplies at all health care facilities on the Navajo Nation continue to increase daily. President Nez and Vice President Lizer are working with members of Congress and state partners to prepare for the use of temporary hospital facilities when current hospitals reach capacity and are no longer able to house patients.

“Now more than ever, we need prayers and the cooperation of the public to fight this growing pandemic. Eventually, we will overcome, but at this rate it’s going to be a long and challenging road ahead. The more people choose to go out in public each day, the more challenging it’ll be for everyone. We all want this pandemic to end, but the only way we end it is by isolating ourselves as much as possible,” added Vice President Lizer. 

President Nez and Vice President Lizer are also working with the Division of Economic Development to prepare and initiate added precautions at grocery stores, banks, and other businesses during the first of the month. More details are forthcoming. 

A Public Health Emergency “Stay at Home Order” remains in effect requiring all residents of the Navajo Nation to remain home and isolated and all non-essential businesses to close to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

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.

###