Stay-At-Home Lockdown For Navajo Nation As ‘Uncontrolled Spread Of COVID-19 Continues

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – A new stay-at-home order for residents on the Navajo Nation took effect Monday morning.

The order, which lasts for three weeks, included new safety guidelines and requirements for businesses and ordered all schools to stop in-person learning and move to online learning.

117 new cases, 7,926 recoveries, and four more deaths related to COVID-19 as three-week stay-at-home lockdown set to begin pic.twitter.com/wUj4hSyZey

— Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez (@NNPrezNez) November 16, 2020

Gas stations, grocery stores, laundromats and restaurants will remain open from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. A news release said those businesses must require employees and customers to wear masks, practice social distancing and proper cleaning and sanitizing.

Leaders said the recent spike in cases on the Navajo Nation is due mostly to people who travel to and from the reservation.

“The sooner we all do our part to stay home consistently, avoid gatherings, and social distance, the sooner we will reach our peak and hopefully begin to see a decline in new cases. If our Navajo citizens don’t abide by the three-week stay at home lockdown, then we’re going to see even more cases and our health care system is going to be overwhelmed very quickly,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. “We have to do it ourselves. Our leaders and health experts can caution everyone constantly, but each of you has to make good choices and stay home as much as possible.”

Nez also issued an executive order that closed all government offices, except for essential employees.

Part of the Navajo Nation is in Utah’s San Juan County in the Four Corners area.

The Navajo Department of Health warned of the “uncontrolled spread”  of the virus last week.

Sunday, the Navajo Nation reported 117 new cases and four more people who died from the disease. Coronavirus has now killed 602 people on the reservation.