Navajo Nation extends weekend lockdowns through September
Sep 2, 2020, 12:05 PM
(Wikipedia Photo/Gerd Muller)
(Wikipedia Photo/Gerd Muller)
PHOENIX – The Navajo Nation Department of Health extended an emergency order that will continue the 32-hour partial weekend long lockdowns through September to continue to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“As long as there is no vaccine available, there will remain substantial risk of contracting COVID-19,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a press release Tuesday. “We have to keep doing everything we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.”
The lockdown requires all businesses including gas stations, restaurants, drive-thru food establishments and other vendors to cease operations.
The lockdown will be in effect from 9 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday each weekend.
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“We are listening to the health care experts and frontline workers, and we are doing our best to avoid another spike in new COVID-19 cases on the Navajo Nation by implementing measures that provide some flexibility but also prioritizing the health of our people,” Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer said in the release.
The Navajo Nation was one of the hardest hit portions of the country during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The nation has reported 9,830 confirmed coronavirus cases and 503 deaths.
A form of the weekend lockdown has been in effect since June to mitigate the high case numbers.
Nez said residents should not be traveling during the lockdown. Instead, they should be using the time to prepare for the upcoming winter season by gathering fire wood, food, water and other supplies.
