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Navajo Health Officials Confirm 168 New COVID-19 Cases Amid Lockdown

AP, file

The Navajo Nation Department of Health has confirmed 168 new known COVID-19 infections on the reservation but no recent deaths.

The tribe has implemented a three-week stay-at-home lockdown except for essential workers, in cases of emergency, and to purchase essential items.

"As the number of cases continue to rise throughout the country including the Four Corner states, the safest place to be is at home here on the Navajo Nation. As more people continue to test positive, it is placing a lot of pressure and work on our health care workers and hospitals," said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in a press release.

Navajo leaders are working on a plan to eventually distribute COVID vaccines when they become available.

More than 16,500 people on the Navajo Nation have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began and over 650 have died.

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