Graham County announces four new deaths from COVID-19, 162 new cases

File Photo By Mythili Gubbi/Cronkite News

Graham County lists 719 active cases

By Jon Johnson

SAFFORD – On Tuesday, the Graham County Department of Health and Human Services announced four new deaths attributed to COVID-19.

That increases the total number of deaths for the course of the pandemic to 95 for Graham County. According to the health department, every single death was a person who was not vaccinated against the virus.

The health department also announced 162 new positive cases in the last five days, bringing the total of active cases to 719. The new cases include more than 100 in the Safford zip code, just under 40 in the Pima/Bylas zip code, and about 10 each for the Thatcher zip code and unknown.

For the course of the pandemic, Graham County has registered 6,505 total confirmed cases, with 5,691 recoveries, 719 active cases, and 95 deaths.

Health experts advise the best way to avoid sickness or death and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to become vaccinated against it, just as people are vaccinated against other diseases.

The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services offers free vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. Children 12 and up can receive the Pfizer vaccine, and adults can have any of the three. The health department provides the vaccine Mondays-Wednesdays from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., Thursdays from 2 – 5 p.m., and the Pfizer vaccine on Thursdays and Fridays from 5 – 7:30 p.m. Click here to register to receive a vaccine.

Other local pharmacies also provide the various vaccines for free.

Greenlee County

Greenlee County has been pretty steady in its increase of COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks.

The Greenlee County Health Department announced six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, giving the county 154 active cases. The county has seen a dramatic increase in the past two weeks, with 42 new cases in the past week and 86 in the past two weeks.