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Navajo Nation extends ‘safer at home’ order

A daily curfew is in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. MDT; a dozen new COVID-19 cases were reported Saturday.

(Carolyn Kaster | AP file photo) In this April 23, 2020, photo, a Team Rubicon volunteer holds a COVID-19 test in the emergency room of the Kayenta Health Center on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Ariz.

Window Rock, Ariz. • The Navajo Nation has extended and loosened a health order intended to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Under the latest “safer at home” order issued Friday, the daily curfew hours are 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. MDT and businesses can remain open until 9 p.m. MDT daily, tribal officials said Saturday.

The order also includes provisions allowing outdoor “drive-in” gatherings in which people remain in their vehicles, park at at least 6 feet from other vehicles, and wear masks, officials said.

The tribe on Saturday reported 12 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and one more death, increasing its pandemic totals to 30,052 cases and 1,246 deaths.

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

The Navajo Nation’s vast reservation covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.