County lists 2,281 total for the pandemic, with 1,243 recovered, 1,002 active, and 36 deaths
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Graham County currently has more than 1,000 active cases of COVID-19 and the local hospital is filled to its capacity, according to health professionals.
The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services announced 25 new positive tests on Thursday to push the county’s total for the pandemic to 2,281.
The breakdown for the new positive tests from include 16 from Safford, and nine from Thatcher.
After having its biggest increase of cases in one month in October (408), Graham County easily surpassed that mark with 968 new positive tests in November.
As of Thursday, Graham County had 2,281 total confirmed cases, with 1,243 recovered, 1,002 actives, and 36 deaths. According to GCDHHS criteria, a positive test is not considered a recovered patient until they have 30 days symptom-free. Graham County has about 39,000 residents. A total of 5.8 percent of Graham County has tested positive for COVID-19, with the currently active number at 2.5 percent.
A total of 36 people, nearly all over the age of 65 and who had pre-existing health conditions, have died with COVID-19 in Graham County. About 1.6 percent of those who have tested positive for the virus in Graham County have died after contracting it. However, that number jumps to about 10 percent for elderly patients. There were 15 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center as of Thursday.
On Wednesday, Gov. Doug Ducey rejected requests for tougher statewide restrictions and instead announced the allocation of $60 million to hospitals around Arizona so they could hire nursing staff. However, hospitals advised there are not enough nurses available to hire.
Ducey did institute three new executive orders, one restricting gatherings to fewer than 50 people, one that makes it easier for restaurants to get permits for outdoor dining, and another that requires health insurers to pay for a patient’s COVID-19 vaccination. A vaccine should be in Arizona in the next few weeks, with healthcare workers and the elderly being serviced first.
According to the state’s database, Graham County’s positive test cases include 483 who are under 20 years of age, 986 between 20-44, 260 between 45-54, 240 between 55-64, 308 who are 65 years old or older, and four unknown.
The ever-increasing positive tests have moved the Graham County Board of Supervisors to issue a mask mandate while in public for Graham County. The regulation includes all parts of incorporated (towns and cities) and unincorporated Graham County.
Greenlee County
The Greenlee County Health Department listed 14 new positive tests on Thursday to raise its total for the pandemic to 276.
The health department has administered tests to 2,803 people as of Thursday, with 2,527 being negative, and 276 positives, according to the department. The county has 156 active cases, 117 recovered cases, and three deaths. Greenlee County has about 10,000 residents.
The breakdown of the Greenlee cases currently listed on the ADHS’ data dashboard (which only shows 265 positives currently) includes 46 under the age of 20, 127 between 20-44, 38 between 45-54, 32 between 55-64, and 22 who are 65 years old or older.
San Carlos Apache Tribe
The San Carlos Apache Tribe stretches into both Graham and Gila counties and its cases add to the respective counties’ cases based on the geography of where the patients reside.
On Friday, Nov. 20, the San Carlos Council issued a two-week stay-at-home mandate effective Nov. 21 – Dec. 5, with Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays designated as essential days. The mandate makes and does not include essential trips to secure food, medical supplies, essential employees, school-related requirements, the post office, planning or attending funerals with a crowd size less than 10, deliveries, construction or repair workers, or those with valid permits for camping, hunting, or fishing.
On Thursday, the San Carlos Apache Tribe Department of Health & Human Services reported 34 new cases. To date, the Tribe has administered 15,216 tests with 12,228 negatives, 2,887 positives, and 91 results pending.
The Tribe lists 204 currently active cases, with 2,661 recovered cases, and 32 deaths.
The area breakdown on the reservation includes Gilson Wash – 494 positive, 457 recovered, 25 active, 12 deaths; Peridot – 970 positive, 874 recovered, 83 active, 13 deaths; 7-Mile – 584 positive, 533 recovered, 45 active, six deaths; Bylas – 667 positive, 634 recovered, 32 active, one death; other areas – 182 positive, 163 recovered, 19 active.
Statewide
For the state, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported 5,442 new cases Thursday to bring the total to 346,421 for the state. It reported 82 new deaths to increase the total fatalities due, at least in part, to COVID-19 to and amended 6,821 in Arizona. The state has about 7.3 million residents and nearly two million tests have been taken.
Reported positive cases in the various counties include Maricopa County with 218,935, Pima County – 41,882, Yuma County – 18,636, Pinal County – 17,702, Navajo County – 8,423, Coconino County – 7,744, Mohave County – 6,792, Yavapai County – 5,971, Apache County – 5,630, Santa Cruz County – 4,118, Cochise County – 3,954, Gila County – 3,167, Graham County – 2,281, La Paz County – 921, Greenlee County – 265 (county lists 276).
