Small Native American villages in the southwestern United States are embracing extraordinary isolation measures that include guarded roadblocks to turn away outsiders and near-universal testing for the coronavirus.
ABC News’ Matt Gutman reports on the plight of Native Americans at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.PICURIS PUEBLO, N.M. -- On a dusty plaza in a Native American village that dates back nearly a millennium, a steady trickle of vehicles inched through a pop-upFrom the bed of a pickup truck and backseats of cars, wide-eyed children stared from behind hand-sewn masks and then sobbed as testing crews in hospital gowns swabbed their noses.
A hundred miles west, the coronavirus has rampaged across the vast Navajo Nation, one the most populous tribes in the U.S. whose boundaries extend from northwestern New Mexico through portions of Arizona and Utah. That outbreak has public health officials concerned that Native American communities may be especially susceptible to the pandemic because of underlying health issues, including high rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
Native Americans accounted for more than 55% of confirmed COVID-19 infections in New Mexico as of Friday, though they're only 11% of the general population. In Picuris Pueblo, roughly 200 residents in the core settlement have all tested negative for the virus. It’s been more than a month since the tribe erected a roadblock and guardhouse with video surveillance to intercept unannounced tourists. Tribal members also are screened for coronavirus symptoms, such as fever, by taking body temperature readings from each passing car and the occasional bicycle.
Pueblos are going further with their own curfews, and Picuris is vowing to stay on lockdown for an additional two weeks before considering any changes.
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