Navajo Nation Makes Wearing Masks Outside Mandatory

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.