Five COVID-19 Deaths, 64 New Cases on the Navajo Nation
Jul 2, 2020, 4:38 PM | Updated: 4:44 pm
(KSL TV)
WINDOW ROCK, Arizona – The Navajo Nation reported five deaths and 64 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday night.
Health officials say the disease has now killed 369 people and 7,613 have tested positive with 5,455 people who have recovered from the disease.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer signed an executive order Tuesday implementing three more 57-hour long weekend lockdowns that will start Friday, July 3.
A news release said more could be announced later.
The weekend lockdowns begin at 8 p.m. Fridays and end the following Monday at 5 a.m.
The Navajo reservation is in the Four Corners area that includes part of San Juan County in southern Utah.
It had been one of the top hot spots in the country since the pandemic started. However, Navajo President Jonathan Nez said data from the Department of Health shows a steady flattening of the curve on the reservation.
“The precautionary measures we have implemented since the start of the virus on the Navajo Nation in mid-March are working,” Nez said in a news release earlier this week. “Other states began relaxing their precautionary measures far too soon, and now they are seeing the consequences with large increases in new cases, hospital visits, and hospital bed usage. Here on the Navajo Nation, we are seeing good signs, but we have to keep the weekend lockdowns and other measures in place for the time being.”
A daily curfew remains in effect on weekdays from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.