Navajo President Jonathan Nez Signs Resolution To Reopen Parks And Roads To Visitors

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez approved a resolution Tuesday that allows parks and roads to reopen to visitors under capacity limits and safety protocols. The resolution lifts several COVID-19 restrictions that will allow the reservation to reopen to 50-percent capacity as early as Thursday. The Navajo Department of Health will issue a new Public Health Emergency Order Wednesday, outlining safety protocols for reopening. The mask mandate remains in effect for the entire Navajo Nation. The resolution also gives schools on the reservation the green light to return to classes in the fall. Nez says the decision to move forward with the resolution was due to a “consistent downward trend in new cases and deaths related to COVID-19, and we have a large majority of our Navajo Nation residents fully vaccinated.” The return of visitors to the Navajo Nation is expected to bring tourism dollars back on the reservation, which is something that has hurt businesses since the start of the pandemic.