Graham and Greenlee counties report additional COVID-19 deaths

File Photo By Mythili Gubbi/Cronkite News:

New confirmed cases begin to slow

By Jon Johnson

jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com

GRAHAM COUNTY – Both Graham and Greenlee counties are reporting new deaths attributed to COVID-19 over the weekend, however, new confirmed cases of the virus have begun to slow. 

The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services (GCDHHS) reported a new COVID-related death on Thursday and then listed two additional deaths in an update Monday. The three new deaths put Graham County’s total for the pandemic to 168. The Greenlee County Health Department also listed a new death attributed to COVID-19 over the weekend, putting its total to 31 for the pandemic.  

On Monday, the GCDHHS listed just 56 new confirmed new cases over the previous four days to place the currently active caseload at 1,845. Graham County has seen a total of 11,736 confirmed cases, with 9,723 recoveries, and 168 deaths for the course of the pandemic.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) put out data regarding rates of COVID-19 by vaccination statusClick here to go through the data, which states that in December unvaccinated people had a 4 times greater chance of contracting COVID-19, a 24 times greater risk of hospitalization, and 58 times greater risk of dying from it.  

The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services offers free vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson and has booster shots for those 18 and over. Additionally, children 5 and up can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and adults can have any of the three. The health department provides the vaccine Mondays from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., Thursdays from 2 – 5 p.m., and the Pfizer vaccine for those 5 and older on Thursdays from 5 – 7:30 p.m. and Fridays from 2 – 5 p.m. Click here to register to receive a vaccine. Vaccines are also available at local pharmacies such as Palo Verde Pharmacy in Pima, and, in Greenlee County, at Gila Health Resources.

Greenlee County

As of Sunday, Greenlee County listed one new confirmed case of COVID-19 for the previous day, which put its total for the pandemic to 2,285.

The county also reported its 31st COVID-19 death on Sunday, after a Clifton-area resident in their 30s died with it. The county has had 14 COVID-19 deaths from the Duncan area, 12 from the Clifton area, and five from the Morenci area.  

As of Sunday, Greenlee County had roughly 120 active cases while it registered 2,134 recoveries and 31 deaths for the course of the pandemic.

With its new cases, Greenlee County has moved to the second-lowest rate of cases by county in the state with 20,867 per 100,000 population. Greenlee is now behind Yavapai County with 20,160 cases per 100,000 population for the lowest transmission rate in the state. Cochise County is right behind Greenlee with 22,224 cases per 100,000 population. The state’s average is 27,168 cases per 100,000 population, and Graham County is at 30,502 cases per 100,000 population, which is the second-highest rate behind Navajo County which is at 32,852 cases per 100,000 population.