The head of the Navajo Nation, an indigenous nation in the United States, has announced the closure of "their tribal borders" and the imposition of curfews, after the epidemic claimed the lives of seven of its members, and infected more than 174 of them, so far.
"We have to isolate ourselves to isolate the virus," and ordered nationwide closures throughout the tribal lands in the southwestern United States, "nation president" Jonathan Neese said in a statement.
Al-Hurra channel reported that the leaders of the tribe, which is considered one of the last large indigenous tribes, whose members live in the largest Native American reserve in the United States, criticized the government's actions and accused them of "ignoring the indigenous people again", and urged Nez his people to remain "strong" and take care To each other during the epidemic despite the lack of support.
He added, "There is frustration with the leadership, not only here in Navajo, but in all Indian countries, we feel that the United States government has ignored again or even excluded the first people, the first people, the first citizens in this country, the indigenous people."
He said that the tribes had not yet seen any of the resources allocated in the three bills to mitigate the impact of the spread of the Coronavirus, which President Donald Trump signed last month.
On Monday, New Mexico State Governor Michelle Logan Gresham warned President Donald Trump of "incredible spikes" in the spread of the Coronavirus in Navajo territory, warning that the virus could "wipe out" some of these tribes.
About 157,000 people live in tribal lands in a semi-isolated area of about 27,400 square miles (71,000 square km) spanning three US states.
Many large families live together in one house, which creates an ideal environment for the virus to spread quickly.
With more than 20 new cases appearing every day, authorities fear that the capabilities of the four small hospitals in the reserve will be quickly overstretched.
"We have almost never reached the peak of the virus - that's what our health care experts tell us," Vice President Myron Laser said in a statement.
The tribe asked the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Guard in Arizona to help build facilities in two cities and help provide medical equipment.
The smaller Hubei tribe, which is based entirely in Navajo province, entered quarantine last week.
Native American communities are among the poorest in the United States, and have repeatedly pushed against policies that they say violate their rights as the country's indigenous people, expressing anger at imposed borders and environmental concerns.
The indigenous peoples of the Americas lived with the threat of infectious diseases for centuries, as the smallpox transmitted by European colonists with them eliminated large numbers of them.
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