The Navajo Nation

Office of the President and Vice President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2020

77 Navajo Nation communities identified as having uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 by Navajo Department of Health

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – On Monday, the Navajo Department of Health identified the following 77 communities with uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 from Nov. 20 to Dec. 3, 2020:

* Chapters added in the new 14-day period (November 20 to December 3, 2020).

“The Centers for Disease Control recently announced that the United States is experiencing very high levels of transmission of COVID-19. Some reports indicate that as least 120 American citizens are becoming infected with the virus every single minute. This is a very widespread surge, larger than what we experienced in April and May during the first wave. Due to the high rise in cases and hospitalizations in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, hospitals on or near the Navajo Nation are no longer able to transport patients to other regional hospitals because they are also reaching full capacity. Hospitals are also having to compete with many others to obtain oxygen resources to help patients and are short on medical personnel. We must stay home more to reduce the spread,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.

As of Monday, the Navajo Nation’s latest public health emergency order is in into effect for the next three weeks, which include the following provisions:

• Extends the Stay-At-Home Lockdown which requires all residents to remain at home 24-hours, seven days a week, with the exceptions of essential workers that must report to work, emergency situations, to obtain essential food, medication, and supplies, tend to livestock, outdoor exercising within the immediate vicinity of your home, wood gathering and hauling with a permit.
• Re-implements full 57-hour weekend lockdowns for three additional weekends that include: 8:00 P.M. MST through 5:00 A.M. MST on December 11, 2020 through December 14, 2020, and for the same hours on December 18, 2020 through December 21, 2020 and December 25, 2020 through December 28, 2020.
• Essential businesses including gas stations, grocery stores, laundromats, restaurants and food establishments that provide drive-thru and curbside services, and hay vendors can operate from 7:00 a.m. (MST) to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday only.
• Refrain from gathering with individuals from outside your immediate household and requiring all residents to wear a mask in public, avoid public gatherings, maintain social (physical) distancing, remain in your vehicle for curb-side and drive-through services.

“All of our hospital beds on the Navajo Nation are nearly full, which means our health care providers will have to begin to make very tough decisions about who can receive certain treatments and medical attention with their limited resources. We have to remember that we all have the ability to change the situation we are in simply by staying home as much as possible. Please be safe and continue to pray,” said Vice President Myron Lizer.

For more information, including helpful prevention tips, and resources to help stop the spread of COVID-19, visit the Navajo Department of Health’s COVID-19 website: http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19. For COVID-19 related questions and information, call (928) 871-7014.

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