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Law360 (June 19, 2020, 3:42 PM EDT) -- The Navajo Nation on Friday resumed weekend lockdowns for the country's largest reservation after a two-week break, as positive cases of the coronavirus continue to rise in Arizona.
The nation announced the lockdowns in a Tuesday press release. The reservation encompasses much of the northeast corner of the state, and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has expressed concern about Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's response.
"With the state of Arizona relaxing its precautions and allowing its stay-at-home order to expire, the metropolitan areas are seeing dramatic increases of COVID-19 cases," Nez said in statement Tuesday. "I cannot stress enough to our Navajo people the importance of staying home."
"It only takes a few people traveling to Phoenix or other hotspots to catch the virus and start another wave of new cases here on the Navajo Nation," Nez said.
Ducey lifted Arizona's stay-at-home order May 15. At the time, the state had not seen more than 563 positive cases in a single day. Cases have risen significantly since then, to a one-day record Thursday of 2,519 positive cases.
More than half of the state's 43,443 cases have been identified in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, according to the state's website.
"We did have several weeks of a downward trajectory that then became flat and has begun to increase," Ducey said during a Wednesday press conference. "Increasing is the wrong direction."
That day, Ducey signed an executive order allowing localities to impose mask requirements for the first time, and threatened enforcement against businesses that are not complying with social distancing measures.
Ducey's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nez's response to Arizona's spike.
Navajo Nation, meanwhile, has begun to experience a plateau in new cases, according to head epidemiologist Ramona Antone-Nez.
"From what we are seeing … it seemed to have plateaued," she told Law360 on Thursday. "And we're starting to see a slight decrease, but we're watching it very closely because some of the areas are still seeing an increase in that region."
Specifically, Antone-Nez's team is keeping an eye on three Arizona service areas on the reservation: Chinle, Fort Defiance and Winslow.
In early May, the nation saw a spike in cases in its northeast corner, in New Mexico's McKinley County. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham responded by invoking the riot act to approve a lockdown request in the reservation border town of Gallup.
Friday's lockdown begins at 8 p.m. and will run through 5 a.m. on Monday, according to a Navajo Nation press release. Next weekend will be the same. Everyone is expected to stay at home, with the exception of essential workers. All businesses on the reservation will be closed.
Curfew violators risk a criminal nuisance citation with a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to 30 days in jail, according to Nez. A weekday curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. remains in effect, along with a mask requirement.
Navajo Nation residents told Law360 this week that they think lockdowns are necessary, even as locals begin to tire of months of restrictions. The weeknight curfew took effect in late March, and weekend lockdowns commenced in early April.
"What [Nez] really needs to do is put the whole Navajo Nation on lockdown for three weeks," said Karrie Manuelito, who is Navajo and lives in the reservation border town of Holbrook, Arizona. "Just the weekend is not going to do any good, because during the week they'll just be out driving again."
"I know [people are] tired of the curfews and lockdowns," added Darrell Begay, who lives in New Mexico on the eastern portion of the reservation. "You don't have to go very far to hear somebody grumbling."
But Begay's primary frustration is that he had less than a week's notice to prepare for resumed weekend lockdowns. Many residents have to travel off of the reservation to get food, water and other supplies, he said.
"Give it a week's notice, you know?" Begay told Law360. "A couple days notice doesn't help anybody. I have to change my schedule to get my supplies."
On Thursday, Navajo Nation reported 85 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths, bringing totals to 6,832 positive cases and 324 deaths from the virus.
--Editing by Abbie Sarfo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
