The Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2020
85 new cases of COVID-19, six more deaths reported, 236 more families assisted with supplies
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Department of Health in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 85 new cases of COVID-19 for the Navajo Nation and a total of 79 deaths as of Tuesday. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases for the Navajo Nation has reached 2,559. A total of 15,651 COVID-19 tests have been administered with 11,609 negative test results.
The 2,559 confirmed positive cases on the Navajo Nation include the following counties:
- McKinley County, NM: 705
- Apache County, AZ: 622
- Navajo County, AZ: 556
- Coconino County, AZ: 296
- San Juan County, NM: 261
- San Juan County, UT: 45
- Socorro County, NM: 25
- Cibola County, NM: 25
- Bernalillo County: 3
- Sandoval County, NM: 21
On Tuesday, the Office of the President and Vice President continued distributing food, water, and other supplies to 236 Navajo families in the communities of Crystal, N.M. and Sawmill, Ariz. Precautions were taken as items were placed in vehicles by staff members with no direct contact with the local residents. They also delivered diapers, toys, and other supplies to the Hogan Hozhoni children’s home in St. Michaels, Ariz.
“Today, the federal government announced that they intend to release a portion of funds appropriated by Congress over one month ago to tribes to help fight COVID-19, but I’ll believe it when I see it. We’ve had to file a lawsuit to get what states received weeks ago. We couldn’t sit around and wait for those dollars, so we’ve had boots on the ground in nearly 20 communities giving out food, water, fire wood, protective masks, and other supplies using our own dollars and contributions from outside entities. This will help many families, but we need to continue to do our part as individuals by staying home as much as possible to flatten the curve,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.
“As of Tuesday, the Navajo Nation through its official donation website has received $2.1 million in monetary contributions so far. These funds are being used to directly benefit the most in need of food and other necessities. We are working with Community Health Representatives at the local levels to identify elders and high-risk residents that need it the most. Thank you to everyone who has contributed their own resources to help this cause. We pray that you are blessed many times in return. Together, we will overcome COVID-19,” said Vice President Myron Lizer.
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.