1,321 total cases; curve may be flattening
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
A man stands near a sign warning drivers of the coronavirus.
WINDOW ROCK
As of Monday there are 1,321 positive COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths on the Navajo Nation, and two deaths in border town cases. A total of 4,589 tests have returned with negative results.
The number is 124 more than Saturday’s, but when averaged over the last two days (no numbers were released Sunday), that’s 62 per day — fewer than the 85 new cases on Friday and the 70 new cases on Saturday. There was only one death over the weekend, compared to a high of five each on April 13 and 14. It’s possible the curve is finally flattening.
During today’s first day of Navajo Nation Spring Session, the Navajo Area Indian Health Service reported 39 Abbott ID Now Lab Analyzers — the new rapid results tests — were disbursed to end users as of April 14. Twenty-three analyzers were given to Navajo IHS and 13 went to Navajo Nation PL 93-638 programs.
“I think the reason we have high numbers (of COVID-19 cases) is because we are very aggressive in our testing,” said Navajo President Jonathan Nez. “I truly believe these numbers would’ve been a lot higher worst if it wasn’t for each of you staying home and abiding by these public health orders.”
Nez, who gave his State of the Navajo Nation Address along with Vice President Myron Lizer while in quarantine, encouraged viewers to continue abiding by public health orders and to hold each other accountable.
Navajo Area Indian Health Services has been saying the peak for Navajo hasn’t been hit yet, and that should be coming in a matter of weeks.
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This weekend was the second 57-hour curfew to be held on Navajo. The Navajo Police Department issued 179 citations during the second 57-hour weekend curfew, 108 of which reflected curfew violations and 71 for traffic violations.
“As far as patrol, our officers were out there doing their job and issuing these citations. Although there was an increase in traffic from the previous weekend, this could be partially due to families getting stimulus checks and in need of supplies,” stated Chief Francisco. “The operation included our traffic enforcement team doing roadblocks on major road corridors while our district offices coordinated community PSAs and saturation patrol.”
As of Monday 15 Navajo Nation Police Department employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Last week all seven districts were tested for the virus.
Although the majority of the people complied with the weekend curfew, a noticeable increase in traffic can be observed throughout the week during non-curfew times.
“We continue to ask the public to keep their safety in mind by adhering to the health orders and to wear a face mask when out in public. In addition, we continue to discourage the public from traveling unless … for essential needs,” stated Francisco
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow