Navajo Nation makes wearing masks outside mandatory
The Navajo Nation acted fast on coronavirus. It’s still more vulnerable to the effects.
By Rebecca Jennings@rebexxxxa Apr 19, 2020, 1:40pm EDT
In an effort to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Department of Health issued an emergency public health order on April 17 mandating the use of masks outside the home, adding to existing orders that include sheltering in place and nightly and weekend curfews.
Native American communities have been hit particularly hard by coronavirus, the Navajo Nation the worst of all. As of April 18, the Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, had 1,197 confirmed cases and 44 deaths. Were it a US state, it would fall at No. 3 for the number of confirmed coronavirus infections per capita, behind New York and New Jersey. And Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez warns that the disease’s peak could still be weeks away.
The high number of confirmed cases is in part due to the Nation’s rate of testing, which is higher than all states besides New York and Louisiana. Its government also responded to the crisis faster than neighboring states, declaring a state of emergency and enacting shelter-in-place orders in mid-March.
But the Navajo Nation is far more vulnerable to the devastating effects of coronavirus than those neighboring states thanks to the United States’ long history of deprioritizing investment in Native communities. As Maria Givens previously wrote for Vox:
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/19/21227101/navajo-nation-coronavirus-masks-minorities