UCSF team of volunteers help Navajo Nation hit hard by COVID-19

ByTim Didion KGO logo
Thursday, May 21, 2020
UCSF team helping Navajo Nation in COVID-19 crisis
Over the past week, the Navajo Nation has been overwhelmed with new cases of the coronavirus, a count that's jumped from a little over 3,000 to nearly 4,000 in a matter of days.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Over the past week, the Navajo Nation has been overwhelmed with new cases of the coronavirus, a count that's jumped from a little over 3,000 to nearly 4,000 in a matter of days.



The massive reservation stretches across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.



LIFE AFTER COVID-19: Here's what restaurants, gyms, schools, sports will look like when they reopen



"We've seen the Navajo Nation be the highest caseload per capita in the entire country," says Sriram Shamasunder M.D., at UCSF.


Dr. Shamasunder is leading a volunteer team from UCSF that first arrived on the reservation last month. In that time they've treated scores of patients with more coming every, in an area with limited resources.



"We're taking care of unsheltered people in a motel where like seven or eight family members are staying and they lost their father and son," says Dr. Shamasunder



He says the situation is so challenging that a second wave of volunteers are set fly out of San Francisco this week. Part of their mission will be outreach to families traditionally isolated from essential services.



RELATED: Coronavirus outbreak on edge of Navajo Nation overwhelms rural hospital



"The most striking is when we have elders who come in who are mostly Navajo speaking, and they will a lot of times only speak a little bit of English," says nurse Heidi Clark.


They are working beside doctors from the Navajo Indian health service, which cares for the population of more than 150,000 people. While that's a fraction of the population of San Francisco, the Nation has several times as many cases.



Dr. Shamasunder believes it's a fact of the COVID-19 crisis the entire country should come to grips with.



"I think this is laying bare a lot of the structural inequities. Essentially that people of color in the U.S. Are getting hit the hardest," said Dr. Shamasunder.



The volunteer effort is being run through UCSF's HEAL program, which sends volunteers to treat struggling communities around the world.



If you have a question or comment about the coronavirus pandemic, submit yours via the form below or here.




Get the latest news, information and videos about the novel coronavirus pandemic here



RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS:


Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.