The Navajo Nation 

Office of the President and Vice President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2020

3,131 recoveries, 84 new cases, and five more deaths related to COVID-19 reported as leaders urge Navajo residents to keep guard up

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – On Saturday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 84 new cases of COVID-19 for the Navajo Nation and five more deaths. The total number of deaths has reached 308 as of Saturday. Reports from 11 health care facilities indicate that approximately 3,131 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, with one health care facility report still pending. 

43,970 people have been tested for COVID-19, which represents 21.4-percent of the Navajo Nation’s population. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases for the Navajo Nation has reached 6,554.

Navajo Nation cases by Service Unit:

• Chinle Service Unit: 1,701
• Crownpoint Service Unit: 609
• Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 415
• Gallup Service Unit: 1,099
• Kayenta Service Unit: 957
• Shiprock Service Unit: 1,083
• Tuba City Service Unit: 542
• Winslow Service Unit: 140

* Eight residences are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer are strongly urging all Navajo Nation citizens to continue wearing protective masks in public, practice social distancing, and washing hands as much as possible to avoid a second wave or spike in new COVID-19 cases. 

“It’s very troubling and disheartening to hear that so many Arizona citizens are contracting COVID-19 in other parts of the state and I believe it’s the direct result of loosening restrictions far too early. On the Navajo Nation, we have to stay the course and we have to think of others before we go out into public. We no longer have the highest number of cases per capita and it’s because we implemented proactive preventative measures that are still in place. We are also testing our people at a much higher rate than anywhere else in the country,” said President Nez.

“As the leaders of the Navajo Nation, we will continue to rely on the data and the facts as we move forward with this pandemic. We are not the experts, but we have many health care and medical experts that guide our decisions on public health orders and other measures. So, we will continue to listen to their advice as we evaluate timelines for reopening our government and other tasks. Now is not the time to let up,” said Vice President 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 primary Navajo Health Command Operations Center, please call ‪(928) 871-7014.

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