(CNN) The health care crisis on reservations around the country is mounting with Navajo Nation, a vast 27,000 square miles spanning three states, facing more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 40 deaths.

On many reservations, health care facilities are already chronically underfunded, but coronavirus has stretched limited resources to the brink. A public health crisis has forced tribes to close businesses and a rapid economic downturn has exasperated poverty.

"It is a perfect storm. It is really highlighting the barriers that Indian country faces every day," said Meredith Raimondi, a spokeswoman for the National Council of Urban Indian Health. "It is so chronically underfunded that everyone is starting from beyond. States are trying to play catch up and tribes are playing double catching up."

The $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress last month included $500 million for Indian Affairs and $8 billion for tribes, but community leaders say it isn't enough. Shortages in testing supplies, medical equipment as well as infrastructure shortcomings including gaps in broadband and even clean drinking water in places like the Navajo Nation have made it harder for leaders there to stop the spread of the virus.

In letters to Congress over the last month, tribes have sounded the alarm, writing to Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee Raul Grijalva that many areas were not prepared nor were they getting what they needed from the federal government.

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