By Jon Johnson
PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Health Services has reconciled two of Graham County’s previously reported positive COVID-19 tests to now place the total of positive tests since the start of the pandemic back to 18.
That means there are 16 cases of the current cluster, as the county’s first two cases were in early March and have been fully recovered for more than a month-and-a-half.
Graham County previously confirmed 20 positive tests, but one patient was reclassified into Pinal County due to having dual residences. Once the state health department learned the patient spent more time at his residence in Pinal County, he was reclassified.
The other case was withdrawn due to an epidemiological change in positive criteria, according to Graham County Health Department Director Brian Douglas. In that case, the patient tested negative on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test but tested positive on the antibody test, showing that the patient had supposedly previously contracted the virus without knowing it and it passed through their system prior to taking the PCR test.
To date, Graham County has conducted 337 PCR tests with 18 positive and five that are currently pending.
As of Friday, the state’s database listed a total of 10,526 positive tests with 517 deaths. Maricopa County showed 5,525 cases, followed by Pima County with 1,520, Navajo County – 945, Apache County – 671, Coconino County – 659, Pinal County – 566, Mohave County – 171, Yavapai County – 170, Yuma County – 159, Cochise County – 41, Santa Cruz County – 38, La Paz County – 22, Gila County – 19, Graham County – 18, Greenlee County – 2.
