MOHAVE COUNTY – Department of Public Health Director Denise Burley is concerned that Mohave County coronavirus case counts have been trending up again in recent weeks. Burley’s remarks came during Thursday’s Board of Supervisors COVID-19 management meeting.
“From mid-Sept. to mid-Oct. our weekly number of cases averaged between 55 and 65, the week ending Oct. 17 we had 83, the week ending Oct. 24, 101,” Burley said. She said new case counts this week are tracking toward 100 again.
Burley told supervisors that the county has also seen increases in cases reported per 100,000 population and also for case positivity, a measure of the percentage of those infected from the test pool.
Burley acknowledged conflict within the scientific community and the need for exemptions, but she once again expressed her support for use of face cover through the continuing pandemic.
“It’s generally accepted that masks work in terms of reducing the spread and as I’ve mentioned before, they’re not a perfect solution, but they protect others from anything I have, from anything you have, and that’s really what we’re trying to do,” she said. Burley said her assessment is bolstered by disparate statistics in the period of time when Colorado River communities lifted their mandates while Kingman’s remained in place.
“Approximately 2-to-3 weeks after the Bullhead City community ended their mask requirement, we started seeing the percent positivity going up. We show the same for the City of Lake Havasu and you’ll see that Kingman was still continuing in a decline in the number, the percent positivity,” Burley said.
Supervisor Hildy Angius suggested tourism, more than mask policy, may explain the difference between Kingman and the river communities.
“It makes sense because we get more visitors,” Angius offered. “I think Havasu and Bullhead will always have a bit more than Kingman, not just maybe because of the masks, but because we get more people visiting from out of town and we are a vacation destination.”
Supervisor Gary Watson asked why death rates are staying steady while infection numbers are increasing. Burley said that’s partly because better safeguards have been implemented in congregate senior living facilities and partly because more young people are becoming infected who recover more quickly.
Burley said 291 people 5-18 years of age have tested positive in Mohave County.
Dave Hawkins