Navajos have highest US virus infections

The Navajo Nation, a Native American territory spanning three states in the western United States, has surpassed New York and New Jersey to reach the highest per-capita rate of coronavirus infections in the country.

The territory reported 4002 cases of the disease on Sunday, putting the Navajo Nation at 2304 cases per 100,000 people, it said in a statement.

In comparison, New York state and New Jersey have rates of 1806 and 1669 people per 100,000 respectively, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

In total, 140 of the jurisdiction's more than 170,000 people have died from Covid-19, according to the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation has aggressively sought to slow the spread of the virus with 57-hour weekend curfews - among the strictest orders in the country - that force all residents to stay at home and all businesses to close.

The Navajo Nation has long suffered from widespread poverty and rates of pre-existing conditions like diabetes that surpass the national average.

The area covering a vast swathe of land across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico is the largest Native American-controlled territory in the US.