By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Another Safford resident has lost their life due to a COVID-19 infection, according to the Graham County Department of Health and Human Services (GCDHHS). The new death puts Graham County’s total at 57 deaths attributed to COVID-19 for the course of the pandemic.
The Safford resident was in the 45-54 age group. No other information about the death was released.
The GCDHHS also announced 33 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with 18 of them coming from the Safford zip code, eight from the Pima zip code (which includes Bylas and nearby areas), and five from the Thatcher zip code.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry, its Safford state prisons have 310 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from its inmates and 135 inmates recovered. According to the Bureau of Prisons, FCI-Safford currently had 37 active cases from its inmates, with 593 recovered as of Thursday. It also lists 24 active cases from employees and three recovered.
The new positive tests pushed Graham County’s total to 4,235, with 2,604 listed as recovered, 1,574 currently active, and 57 deaths.
Arizona has been reported as the hotspot of the world for new COVID-19 cases, and Graham County is in the upper third of counties with the most cases per population. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Graham County was listed as having a percentage of 11,006 cases per 100,000 residents. Even with the most recent influx of cases in correctional facilities, however, Graham County is still behind Yuma County (13,897 per 100,000), Santa Cruz County (12,915 per 100,000), Apache County (11,711 per 100,000), and Navajo County (11,470 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 4,520 per 100,000, according to Thursday’s numbers from the ADHS, and the state average is 9,028 per 100,000.
Graham County’s demographics of cases include 637 under the age of 20, 2,038 between the ages of 20-44, 619 between the ages of 45-54, 453 between the ages of 55-64, 479 who are 65 years old or older, and nine who are unknown.
Greenlee County
Greenlee County added two new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday to increase its total to 474, with 326 recovered, 142 active cases, and six deaths.
As of Monday, the Greenlee County Health Department has administered 4,157 tests, with 3,683 negative results, and 474 positive results.
Statewide
On Thursday, the ADHS listed 7,311 new cases to bring its total for the pandemic to 649,040 in Arizona. The department also listed 182 new deaths on Thursday, to bring the total for Arizona to 10,855 dead attributed to COVID-19. There are also more than 5,000 current hospitalizations.
The breakdown of total cases by county includes Maricopa with 401,855, Pima – 86,345, Pinal – 35,550, Yuma – 31,958, Mohave – 16,287, Yavapai – 14,170, Coconino – 13,420, Navajo – 12,942, Cochise – 9,380, Apache – 8,410, Santa Cruz – 6,866, Gila – 5,217, Graham – 4,235, La Paz – 1,935, and Greenlee – 469 (county lists it at 474).
