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Navajo Nation reports 15 new COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths

(Tech. Sgt. Michael Matkin | U.S. Air National Guard) Arizona National Guard service members set up a Federal Medical Station on the Navajo Nation in Chinle, Ariz., to support COVID-19 health care May 02, 2020.

Window Rock, Ariz. • Navajo Nation health officials on Tuesday night reported 15 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five additional deaths.

The total number of people infected on the reservation now stands at 8,927 with 446 known deaths.

Tribal health officials said 78,501 people have undergone testing and 6,585 have recovered from the virus.

The Navajo Nation once had one of the highest per-capita rates of coronavirus infections in the U.S.

The daily number of reported cases has declined overall, but nighttime curfews, weekend lockdowns and a mask mandate remain because of recent surges in COVID-19 off the reservation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

For most people, the new 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.