facebook-pixel

Navajo Nation reports 17 new coronavirus cases, 4 more deaths

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Navajo Mountain Health Clinic Manager Revina Talker tends to a 74-year-old Diné patient as medical assistant Toni Black gets an IV flowing, Aug. 25, 2020.

Window Rock, Ariz. • Navajo Nation health officials report 17 new confirmed cases of coronavirus with four additional deaths.

The Navajo Department of Health says there now have been 548 known deaths since the pandemic began and 10,107 confirmed cases on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Tribal health officials say 101,899 people have been tested for the coronavirus and 7,230 have recovered as of Saturday.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

The Navajo Nation’s 32-hour partial weekend lockdown ‪‪began at 9 p.m. Saturday and will last until 5 a.m. Monday to help control and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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.