COVID-19 cases continue to spike in Graham, Greenlee counties

The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services now lists the county’s active COVID-19 cases at 342.

Graham County reports 148 new positive tests for COVID-19

By Jon Johnson

jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com

SAFFORD – The amount of new COVID-19 cases continue to increase rapidly in Graham and Greenlee counties. 

On Tuesday, the Graham County Department of Health and Human Services reported an increase of 148 new positive tests for COVID-19 in the last five days. 

While Graham County’s active cases had been as low in June as to almost reach single digits, the number has skyrocketed in late July and August to now have 342 active cases. 

Out of the newest release positives, the majority are from the Safford zip code with 62 new cases, followed by the Pima/Bylas zip code with 41, Thatcher zip code with 15 and 30 that are listed as unknown. 

For the course of the pandemic, Graham County has recorded 6,033 confirmed cases, with 5,602 recoveries, 342 active cases, and 89 deaths. 

On Monday, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was fully approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), with Moderna’s vaccine likely set to receive full approval in the coming weeks. Pfizer is also available for those ages 12-17 on its emergency-use approval. Click here to register to receive the vaccine from the health department or visit your local pharmacy or doctor’s office. 

Greenlee County

Long a bastion of limited exposure, Greenlee County has been hit hard by the Delta variant. On Monday, the Greenlee County Health Department reported nine new positive cases for the previous day. The new cases bring Greenlee’s active number of cases to 87, which is the highest amount of active cases Greenlee has had. 

For the course of the pandemic, Greenlee County has reported 696 total confirmed cases, with 598 recoveries, 87 active cases, and 11 deaths. 

Click here to register to receive a vaccination from the Greenlee County Health Department. 

People are encouraged to practice COVID-19 mitigation measures, including wearing a face mask when in close contact with others, wash their hands frequently, stay home if they feel sick, and practice social distancing when possible. 

San Carlos Apache Tribe

The San Carlos Apache Tribe reported 94 new positive cases on Tuesday. The San Carlos Apache Reservation straddles Graham and Gila counties, so the number of cases is split geographically and included in the respective county numbers. 

The new positive tests give the Tribe 323 currently active cases. For the course of the pandemic, the Tribe has reported 4,553 confirmed cases, with 4,162 recoveries, 323 active cases, and 68 deaths.