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Posted: May 27, 2020

The Indian Health Service has updated its coronavirus testing data, showing results as of 11:59 pm Eastern on May 25, 2020.

According to the data, 104,692 tests have been administered within the IHS system. Of those, 9,179 have returned positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. That represents an increase of nearly 2 percent from the 9,001 cases previously reported.

Overall, testing increased by 1.9 percent between May 24 and May 25. The low growth rates in testing and positive cases are indicative of lulls seen during weekends.

Altogether, nearly 8.7 percent of tests are returning positive. But the rate is much higher, 22.2 percent, in Navajo Area, which serves the largest reservation in the United States.

The Phoenix Area, with 13.5 percent of tests returning COVID-19 positive, and the Nashville Area, with nearly 12.5 percent positive, are also higher than the IHS national rate.

On the other end of the spectrum, aggressive efforts in the Alaska Area are turning up very few cases. Out of 16,719 tests administered, only about 0.17 returned positive, the data shows.

The data, however, is incomplete. While 100 percent of facilities run directly by the IHS are reporting data, only 33 percent of tribally managed facilities and 44 percent of urban Indian organizations are doing the same, the agency has told Indianz.Com.

According to the IHS budget justification for the current fiscal year (2020), there were 2,895,571 American Indians and Alaska Natives in the U.S., which is the most recent user population estimate. Based on that number, 3.6 percent of Native Americans have been tested for the coronavirus since the IHS began reporting data in March.

COVID-19 Cases by IHS Area

Data are reported from IHS, tribal, and urban Indian organization facilities, though reporting by tribal and urban programs is voluntary. Data reflect cases reported to the IHS through 11:59 pm on May 25, 2020.

IHS Area Tested Positive Negative
Alaska 16,719 28 13,645
Albuquerque 9,833 683 5,198
Bemidji 4,071 145 2,498
Billings 9,185 188 7,884
California 2,681 107 2,077
Great Plains 5,609 252 5,328
Nashville 4,463 557 3,758
Navajo 23,476 5,223 17,034
Oklahoma City 14,086 309 12,384
Phoenix 10,174 1,375 8,460
Portland 3,339 270 2,885
Tucson 1,056 42 894
TOTAL 104,692 9,179 82,045

IHS: https://www.ihs.gov/coronavirus/

IHS COVID-19 Dashboard

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