Navajo Nation Reports 40 More COVID-19 Cases, 3 More Deaths

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (CBS4/AP) -- Navajo Nation health officials have reported 40 more coronavirus cases and three additional known deaths.

Tribal Department of Health officials say 7,981 people on the vast reservation that spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have tested positive for COVID-19 with 382 known deaths as of Wednesday night. Health officials also say reports from all 12 health care facilities on and near the Navajo Nation indicate 61,371 people have been tested and 5,693 have recovered from COVID-19.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested.

A Colorado health care worker has been working at the Navajo Nation since late May. Melissa Schuch agreed to work as a respiratory therapist at an Tséhootsooí Medical Center, an Indian Health Services hospital, for 13 weeks.

"I left my job with UCHealth so I can go and take this job because I'll be gone so long," Schuch told CBS4 in May.

"I'm not really worried about catching it myself," she said. "It's my job to help other people and try to save lives."

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)