By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services announced two new deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total for the course of the pandemic to 91.
The health department also listed 134 new confirmed positive tests in the past three days, which followed up a report of 108 new positive tests for a four-day period that ended Aug. 30.
The most recent positive cases include 71 from the Safford zip code, 40 from the Pima/Bylas zip code, 15 from the Thatcher zip code, and eight unknown.
As of Thursday, Graham County now has 600 currently active cases, after being nearly down to single digits in June.
For the course of the pandemic, Graham County has reported 6,343 total cases, with 5,652 recoveries, 600 currently active cases, and 91 deaths.
Health experts advise the best way to avoid becoming sick or dying from COVID-19 is to take one of the three approved vaccines, all of which are available for free through the health department or other locally available sources.
Greenlee County
The Greenlee County Health Department has reported 13 new positive tests for Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 to elevate its currently active cases to 125. August was the first month that Greenlee County recorded an active caseload of 100 or more for the course of the pandemic.
As of Wednesday, Greenlee listed a total number of 746 confirmed cases, with 608 recoveries, 125 currently active cases, and 13 deaths.
