Navajo Nation goes 10 days without virus death
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Apr. 20—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Navajo Nation on Tuesday reported no deaths from COVID-19 for the 10th consecutive day.
The tribe has also reported 20 or fewer new cases each day for the last week.
Navajo President Jonathan Nez said residents still should avoid unnecessary travel and continue to practice COVID-19 prevention measures.
"Through contact tracing, it appears that the majority of new COVID-19 cases are directly related to individuals who host or attend in-person family gatherings in which masks and other precautionary measures are not enforced, and those who travel off the Navajo Nation and bring back the virus," Nez said.
A total of 30,380 Navajo residents have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and 1,262 people have died from the disease.
The Navajo Nation remains under its "orange" level restrictions to curb virus spread.
Most businesses may operate at 25% occupancy, and tribal casinos are open only to Navajo residents and employees.
Tribal roads on the reservation remain closed to visitors.
The Navajo Department of Health classifies the communities of Crownpoint, Rock Springs, Thoreau and To'hajillee as having "uncontrolled spread" of COVID-19 in the last two weeks.
All of those communities are located on the New Mexico portion of the reservation.
The White House announced that first lady Jill Biden will visit the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Arizona, on Thursday to meet with President Nez and tour a vaccination site.
