TO GO WITH AFP STORY by ISSAM AHMED - "'Water is life': COVID-19 exposes chronic crisis in Navajo Nation "
TOPSHOT - A sign warns against the Covid-19 virus near the Navajo Indian nation town of Tuba City, Arizona on May 24, 2020. - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Washing your hands is easy, and it's one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs," advice it has relentlessly emphasized over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. That's just not possible for an estimated 30 to 40 percent of this sovereign territory's 178,000 residents, who don't have access to running water or sanitation. This is seen as a major reason behind the surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States' largest Native American reservation, with nearly 5,000 confirmed infections and 160 deaths at one of the highest per capita fatality rates in the country. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)