COVID-19 Survival and Recovery on the Navajo Nation 

May 15, 2020 – Navajo Nation health departments reported Sunday that the tribe has exceeded 3,000 positive COVID-19 tests, with cases in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The tribe has emergency orders in place to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus. The reservation is closed to visitors, there’s a stay-at-home order and nightly curfews, and 57-hour weekend lockdowns have been implemented since Easter. Tribal leaders and health officials are working around the clock fighting COVID-19 while providing relief to tribal citizens with food, water, firewood and other supplies. There have been more than 100 deaths, but many people have recovered or are in the recovery process. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks with a Navajo citizen who shares his COVID-19 recovery story and a Navajo journalist whose recent opinion piece in the New York Times highlighted some reasons why the virus is spreading so rapidly across Navajo land. 

Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales 

Guests:  Lewis Joe, Navajo citizen, COVID-19 survivor Sunnie Clahchischiligi, Navajo journalist and UNM doctoral student 

This story is part of a collaboration with FRONTLINE, the PBS series, through its Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.