Window Rock, Ariz. • The Navajo Department of Health has reported 102 new cases of coronavirus on the Navajo Nation and one more known death.
That pushes the numbers to 4,944 positive COVID-19 cases and 159 known deaths as of Wednesday night.
Tribal officials also said preliminary reports from eight health care facilities indicate about 1,620 people have recovered from COVID-19 with more reports still pending.
“We have to keep doing what we’re doing by wearing protective masks, complying with the weekend lockdowns, staying home and practicing social distancing,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement. “We are seeing some very good indications that the numbers are flattening.”
[Read more: Navajo Nation may have reached its coronavirus peak in late April]
The tribe will have another weekend lockdown from Friday night until early Monday.
It will be the eighth weekend lockdown that also requires the closure of all businesses on the Navajo Nation that stretches into northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.