The COVID-19 outbreak at FCI-Safford continues to drive Graham County’s new case count.
By Jon Johnson
The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services (GCDHHS) reported 120 new positive COVID-19 tests for Wednesday and Thursday, with 108 of those coming from Safford. The health department advised the majority of Safford’s new cases have come from “a correctional institution.”
In addition to the new tests, a Safford resident over the age of 65 has died with the cause attributed to COVID-19.
The new tests and death put Graham County’s total at 2,999 positive tests, with 1,830 recovered, 1,121 active, and 48 deaths.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution-Safford – located on Highway 366 (Swift Trail) just west of U.S. Highway 191 – has 211 inmates who are actively positive for COVID-19, along with 13 staff members as of Thursday. The BOP also lists 10 inmates who have recovered from the virus along with two staff members.
Other new cases in Graham County over Wednesday and Thursday include nine from Thatcher, four from Pima, three from the San Carlos Apache Tribe, and two from Fort Thomas.
Greenlee County
As of Wednesday, the Greenlee County Health Department had administered 3,480 tests, with 3,103 negatives, and 377 positives. The county listed eight new positive tests Wednesday to increase the numbers to 146 active cases, with 228 recovered cases, and three deaths.
Greenlee County received its first batch of the Moderna vaccine on Monday and inoculated its healthcare workers.
Statewide
On Thursday, the ADHS listed 7,046 new cases to bring its total for the pandemic to 480,046 in Arizona. The department also listed 115 new deaths on Thursday, to bring the total for Arizona to 8,294 dead attributed to COVID-19.
The state also began administering the first approved vaccine last week.
The breakdown of total cases by county includes Maricopa with 295,379, Pima – 63,472, Yuma – 25,732, Pinal – 25,317, Mohave – 10,927, Navajo – 10,752, Coconino – 10,407, Yavapai – 10,091, Apache – 7,083, Cochise – 6,724, Santa Cruz – 5,605, Gila – 4,182, Graham – 2,999, La Paz – 1,284, and Greenlee – 365 (county lists it at 377).
