An overflow coronavirus medical facility on the Navajo Nation is nearing completion.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are building the 50-bed site near Chinle and it could be ready to receive patients for isolation by this weekend.
“We hope we don’t have to use the Alternative Care Sites, but we also have to prepare in case there is an overflow of COVID-19 patients,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in a press release. “This facility will be used for people to isolate themselves so they don’t expose their loved ones to the virus. It’s an effective tool to help fight the spread of COVID-19 … To our Diné citizens, we urge you to stay home and please do not travel off the Navajo Nation unless it’s an emergency.”
Another overflow site is operational in Gallup, N.M., and a third is under construction in Shiprock, N.M. Navajo Nation officials say as of Monday there were nearly 1,800 known COVID-19 cases along with 59 deaths on the reservation. It was the second day in a row that the tribe reported no new deaths from the disease.
