The U.S. Treasury Department will begin distributing $4.8 billion in pandemic-relief funds to Native American tribal governments in all U.S. states starting Tuesday, the Treasury and Interior Departments said in a joint statement.

The payments, which will be based on population data in U.S. Census figures, are aimed at helping the tribes respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The joint statement said payments based on employment and expenditure data would be made at a later date.

The decision frees up about 60 percent of the $8 billion in funds earmarked for Native tribes in the CARES Act, after delays caused by a legal dispute among the nation's native populations over who is entitled to the aid.

Amounts calculated for Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act regional and village corporations, for-profit businesses that serve tribal villages in Alaska, would be held back until pending litigation relating to their eligibility was resolved, the joint statement said.

Native tribes have been seriously impacted by the outbreak, with the Navajo Nation, which resides in Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, trailing only the hardest-hit states New Jersey and New York in terms of the highest infection rate, according to Bettina Ramon, with the People for the American Way think-tank.

Ramon noted that Health disparities, higher rates of poverty and a lack of insurance make tribal groups especially vulnerable, adding that casinos, a big source of income in some Native communities, were also omitted from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

Treasury would distribute the remaining 40% of the $8 billion based on the total number of persons employed by the Native tribes and any tribally owned entity, the statement said, as well as the amount of higher expenses faced by the tribe in the fight against the virus.

Treasury will work with the tribes to confirm employment numbers and seek additional information regarding higher expenses due to the public health emergency.