Navajo Nation Takes Action Against Mask Mandate
The Navajo Nation largely has rescinded a mask mandate that’s been in effect since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Friday, fulfilling a pledge that new tribal President Buu Nygren made while campaigning for the office.
The mandate was one of the longest-standing in the United States and applied broadly to businesses, government offices and tourist destinations on the vast reservation, which extends into three states: New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.
The tribe at one point had one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the country and among the strictest measures to help prevent the spread of the virus.
The lifting of the mandate comes for the general population; Navajo leaders said masks still will be required in schools, nursing homes and health-care facilities.
The Navajo leaders — Nygren and Navajo Nation Council Delegate Otto Tso, who temporarily is overseeing the tribe’s legislative branch — jointly announced the new stance on masks Friday on social media.
“It’s time for the Navajo people to get back to work,” Nygren said in a statement. “It’s time for them to be able to open their chapter houses to conduct local business and to receive services they are asking for and deserve.”
Nygren and Tso cited figures from tribal health officials that show there’s a low risk of transmission, based on the seven-day incidence rate of 51 cases per 100,000 people.
The number of positive cases overall during the pandemic still remains higher in the Navajo region than in any other Indian Health Service region, except for Oklahoma.
The Navajo Nation has tallied more than 2,000 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began.
The news about the updated mask policy spread fast, and comments poured in on social media. Some praised the action while others were critical, including former President Jonathan Nez, who had sought a second term, and whose tenure was dominated by the response to the pandemic.
Nez credited the mask mandate for the lower coronavirus rates and said he’s praying that cases of COVID-19, flu and Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) don’t rise.
“But the new administration needs to be held accountable if we see a surge in new infections, hospitalizations, and deaths,” he wrote on Twitter.
Enforcement of the mask mandate had been mixed on the 27,000-square-mile Navajo Nation.
Most people wore masks at the inauguration for newly elected officials earlier this month, but neither Nygren nor Nez kept one on the entire time.
Brian Parrish, who oversees the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise, said signage would be changed at the tribe’s four casinos to indicate that masks now are optional.
He said he suspected a large percentage of patrons haven’t returned because of the mask mandate but might now.
“We’re ready to take this next step toward getting back to normal,” Parrish said Friday.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
