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544 People On The Navajo Nation Have Recovered From COVID-19

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Navajo Nation has been one of the hardest hit areas. But this weekend, the tribe shared some good news — it's preliminary recovery numbers. 

Preliminary reports from some health care facilities show that approximately 544 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, officials said in a statement. That’s about 14% of the nearly 4,000 tribal members who have tested positive for coronavirus as of Saturday. 

The tribe said more recovery reports from other health care facilities are pending. 

→  Despite Being No. 1, Navajo Curve Is Flattening

On Saturday, the Navajo Nation also reported 172 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 more deaths. 

“We are seeing a spike in new cases and this is largely due to the aggressive testing that is taking place across the Navajo Nation," said Navajo President Jonathan Nez. "We are testing our people here on the Navajo Nation almost fives times greater than the rest of the country. So let’s not panic or be overly-alarmed by the daily numbers, but let’s be diligent and recognize that we cannot let up now."

Nez urges residents to abide by the strict 57-hour weekend lockdown, which ends Monday at 5 a.m., to curb the spread of the virus. 

→  Read The Latest News On The Coronavirus Disease 

Rocio Hernandez was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2020 to 2022.