By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – The mixture of precautionary measures, post-holidays, and vaccine rollout possibly has helped lower the number of cases of COVID-19 in Graham County.
As of Monday, the county registered 576 active cases out of 5,262 cases for the course of the pandemic. The county lists 4,615 recovered cases and 71 deaths.
The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services (GCDHHS) listed two deaths last week to increase the total to six for February and 71 for the course of the pandemic. Conversely, the county saw 14 deaths in January alone.
New positive tests for COVID-19 have slowed down considerably for Graham County. On Monday, the Graham County Department of Health and Human Services reported just one new positive test which was from the Thatcher zip code.
Arizona has been reported as one of the hotspots of the world for new COVID-19 cases, and Graham County is the fourth-highest county with the most cases per population. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 Data Dashboard, as of Thursday, Graham County was listed as having a percentage of 13,676 cases per 100,000 residents. Even with the influx of cases in correctional facilities, however, Graham County is still behind Yuma County (15,789 per 100,000), Apache County (14,317 per 100,000), Santa Cruz County (14,316 per 100,000), and Navajo County (13,717 per 100,000) in the rate of transmission per population. Conversely, Greenlee County – where there are no correctional facilities – has the lowest rate in Arizona with 5,320 per 100,000, according to Tuesday’s numbers from the ADHS, the state average is 11,259 per 100,000.
Graham County’s demographics of cases include 730 under the age of 20, 2,599 between the ages of 20-44, 799 between the ages of 45-54, 559 between the ages of 55-64, 566 who are 65 years old or older, and nine who are unknown.
Greenlee County
It took Greenlee County an entire year to register six deaths from COVID-19 and now it has listed three in less than one week.
The Greenlee County Health Department announced the death of a second Morenci resident attributed to COVID-19 last week. The resident was in their 60s.
The death marks the ninth COVID-19 death for Greenlee County, with four from the Duncan area, three from the Clifton area, and now two from the Morenci area.
As of Sunday, the health department has administered 4,875 tests with 4,318 negative results and 557 positives. The county lists 54 active cases, 494 recovered cases, and nine deaths.
Statewide
On Monday, the ADHS listed 1,507 new cases to bring its total for the pandemic to 809,474 in Arizona. The department reduced the death toll by three deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Monday, lowering the total for Arizona to 15,502 dead attributed to COVID-19.
The breakdown of total cases by county includes Maricopa with 506,046, Pima – 108,479, Pinal – 45,535, Yuma – 36,310, Mohave – 20,931, Yavapai – 16,923, Coconino – 16,281, Navajo – 15,477, Cochise – 11,053, Apache – 10,281, Santa Cruz – 7,611, Gila – 6,354, Graham – 5,262, La Paz – 2,379, and Greenlee – 552 (county lists it at 557).