The Navajo Nation 

Office of the President and Vice President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 22, 2020

151 new cases, 11,202 recoveries, and seven more deaths related to COVID-19 as Navajo Area IHS receives first shipment of Moderna vaccine

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. –  On Tuesday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 151 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and seven more deaths. The total number of deaths is now 755 as of Tuesday. Reports indicate that 11,202 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 193,981 COVID-19 tests have been administered. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 21,327.

Navajo Nation COVID-19 positive cases by Service Unit:

• Chinle Service Unit: 4,048
• Crownpoint Service Unit: 2,243
• Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 2,233
• Gallup Service Unit: 3,530
• Kayenta Service Unit: 2,058
• Shiprock Service Unit: 3,579
• Tuba City Service Unit: 2,282
• Winslow Service Unit: 1,332

* 22 residences with COVID-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.

On Tuesday, the state of Arizona reported 5,859 new cases, Utah reported 2,302, and New Mexico reported 1,272 new cases. The Navajo Nation remains in a three-week lockdown that requires all residents to remain home at all times with the exception of essential workers that are required to report to work, cases of emergencies, and to obtain essential items such as food, water, and medication. 

“With the arrival of the first shipment of Moderna vaccines today, we have another weapon to help us fight COVID-19, but it will take time. Until the vaccine is widely available, we have to keep our guard up and not let down. There are reports overseas of a new strand of the COVID-19 that transmits from person to person even quicker than what we have experienced so far. Please be safe, stay home as much as possible, wear a mask, avoid gatherings, practice social distancing, and wash your hands often,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.

The Nez-Lizer team along with Miss Navajo Nation Shaandiin Parrish distributed turkeys and other items to health care workers at Sage Memorial Hospital and Winslow Indian Health Care Center on Thursday, to help our frontline warriors and their families. 

On Thursday, Dec. 24 at 10:00 a.m. (MST), the Nez-Lizer Administration will host an online town hall on the Nez-Lizer Facebook page to provide additional updates. They will be joined by Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, who will provide information about the Pfizer vaccine. 

“We are all in this fight together. All of us have to do everything we can to protect our loved ones, especially our elderly and those with underlying health conditions. We see the light at the end of the tunnel now that we have two vaccines, but we have to remain patient until more vaccines are produced and distributed over the next several months. Keep fighting the pandemic together and keep praying for our Nation,” said Vice President Myron Lizer.

For more information, including helpful prevention tips, and resources to help stop the spread of COVID-19, visit the Navajo Department of Health’s COVID-19 website: http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19. For COVID-19 related questions and information, call (928) 871-7014.