Author: Arlyssa Becenti

“Visitors, please respect the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation, please don’t travel now,” said Nez. “It isn’t the best time to sightsee.”

Chilchinbeto, Arizona, has been called a hot zone after 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported late Thursday.

There are 170 beds, 13 ICU beds, 52 isolation rooms and 28 ventilators throughout the 12 Navajo Area IHS facilities, which she said was a significant amount of capacity.

Officials are in the process of determining the relationship between the two cases. Like the first patient, the second individual is a middle-aged man and reported his symptoms to the Kayenta Health Center. He was taken to a hospital off the Nation for testing.