Covid-19 hits Navajo Nation hard

ALBUQUERQUE – The Governor of New Mexico, has extended a state of emergency order for the town of Gallup, a border town near the Navajo reservation, as the numbers of cases of the coronavirus have increased in the area. The order from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was set to expire on Thursday May 7 but she extended it until noon on Sunday, May 10 and could extend it again.
“The extended order means that businesses will continue to be closed from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., only two people may travel together in a car and Gallup residents should remain at home except for emergency outings,” the press release states.
Also cloth face coverings must be worn when residents visit essential businesses, non-profits or government buildings, the governor says.
Blockades and check points have been set up at roads in and out of Gallup to enforce the declaration with two people allowed in each vehicle and they are to be entering the city for essential business only.
Residents of the Navajo and Zuni reservations travel to Gallup for groceries, water, medical supplies, and recreation. Gallup has a population of 22,000, the Navajo reservation population is at about 180,000 and the nearby Zuni pueblo at about 10,000 so the number of visitors to Gallup increases substantially as reservation residents travel there, especially on weekends Officials and residents have expressed concern that Gallup visitors did not practice social distancing and arrived with a car load of people, most not wearing masks all of which have resulted in a high rate of the coronavirus. Social distancing and face masks are also required of Gallup residents. About 40 per cent of the Gallup residents are Native Americans.
The Navajo Nation Department of Health issued a press release on May 8 stating that 2,876 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 96 people have died of virus. This means that the per capita rate is the third highest in the United States behind New York, and New Jersey, said Raphael (Sic) Begay, an information officer for the Navajo Nation Department of Health in a telephone interview.
In order to issue the state of emergency, and enact these restrictions, the governor invoked the Riot Control Act upon the request of Gallup Mayor Louis Bonaguidi.
In a May 7 letter, Mayor Bonaguidi asks the governor to invoke the Riot Control Act “to address the outbreak we have been experiencing in our community.”
He says that it is necessary to continue to restrict access to Gallup, continue the current business curfews, limit the number of passengers in a vehicle and “continue other containment strategies so the city can prepare for a successful reopening.”
He adds that “our community is unable to address the outbreak without the imposition of certain restrictions to regulate social distancing, public gatherings, sales of goods and the use of public streets.”
The governor has issued several press releases explaining the need for the state of emergency which she first declared upon the request of Mayor Bonaguido on May 1.
“The action is intended to continue the aggressive physical distancing in the community and mitigate the transmission of COVID-19,” the governor says in a press release.
The Navajo Nation issued its own emergency orders beginning March establishing curfews for residents who are to remain at home from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. daily and from 8 p.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Monday on weekends. The order requires that masks be worn in public places. People are advised to stay at home except for emergencies. The tribal administration also closed government offices.
As Gallup has closed its roads to outside residents, the Navajo tribal government has begun distributing food and water and other supplies in communities near Gallup and in remote areas of the reservation, said Crystalyne Curley, lead public information officer for the Navajo Nation Department of Health.
Tribal officials have also delivered firewood, diapers, face masks and other supplies to residents and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has supplied truck-loads of water.
The Navajo Nation Administration office of the president and vice president said in a press release on May 10 that they are helping families with food, water and other items to help residents stay at home and avoid the spread of the virus.
Federal and state agencies also are distributing food, water and supplies to children and seniors throughout the state.
In addition to the lack of water and electricity in many areas of the reservation, there is a shortage of grocery stores and health care facilities on the Navajo Nation, Curley said and there is a need for more test kits and supplies such as face masks.
Many Navajos also live in small houses with many generations under the same roof so the virus spreads quickly, Curley pointed out. Also, many residents have health conditions including diabetes and obesity which making them more vulnerable to the virus.
Governor Lujan Grisham issued the emergency declaration under the state’s Riot Control Act authorizing her “to enact temporary restrictions to mitigate the uninhibited spread of COVID-19 in that city.”
The emergency declaration closes all roads into Gallup, limits business hours, restricts the number of people who can travel in a car at the same time and requires residents to remain at home except for emergency outings.
To help in her efforts to lower the number of cases, the governor has called on the state police and the New Mexico National Guard to enforce the weekday and weekend curfews, and shut down roads to travelers. The Gallup City Police and McKinley County Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Transportation also are providing support, the governor says in a press release. Citations can be issued with a misdemeanor for the first offense one and a felony for the second.
In order to prevent this catastrophe from happening on Indian reservations in South Dakota two reservations set up roadblocks in order to check people entering their reservations. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem threatened the tribes with a lawsuit. Situation is still developing.