Kingman leads Mohave County with 107 new COVID-19 cases

KINGMAN – Nearly half of the 242 new COVID-19 cases reported in Mohave County were logged in the Kingman medical service area, and nearly half of those Kingman cases involved older residents.

The new cases, along with one death, were revealed by the Mohave County Department of Public Health on Monday, Nov. 29 in report that covered the five-day period from noon on Wednesday, Nov. 24 to noon on Monday. The newly deceased was a patient from the Lake Havasu City service area in the 70-79 age bracket.

There were 107 new cases recorded in the Kingman area, the most of the county’s four medical service areas. They included 48 in the age groups over 50 that have accounted for 95% of the deaths in the county since the beginning of the pandemic. There were 19 new local cases ages 50-59, 17 ages 60-69 and 12 ages 70-79.

Another 12 new patients were children and teens, including eight ages 0-10 and four ages 11-19. There were also 21 new cases ages 30-39, 18 ages 20-29 and eight ages 40-49.

Elsewhere in the county, there were 68 new cases reported in the Bullhead City medical service area, 63 in the Lake Havasu City service area, three in the communities in the Arizona Strip and one in an undetermined area of the county.

Kingman now leads the county’s four medical service areas with 8,951 cases, and is second in the number of deaths with 234.

Community spread of the coronavirus in the county remains high, with 443 new cases and 21 deaths reported in the week ending at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 24.

That’s a decrease in cases from 509 new cases and 12 deaths reported in the seven-day period ending at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 17. That compares to 549 new cases and eight deaths reported by county health officials in the week ending Wednesday, Nov. 10, which was the most new cases in any single week since the week ending Sept. 29, and the fewest deaths in any single week since the week ending July 21.

Spikes in cases are usually followed by an increase in deaths in about two weeks.

Mohave County remains a high-transmission area, with the county’s low vaccination rate cited as a primary reason by local health officials.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, only 42.1% of eligible county residents have received a COVID-19 vaccine, which have proven effective at preventing the disease and lessening the severity of breakthrough illnesses. That places Mohave far below the 62.3% logged statewide. More than one-third of county residents – 74,817 of about 213,000 – are fully vaccinated.

According to the county’s website, Bullhead City has suffered the most with 249 coronavirus deaths. It is followed by Kingman with 234, Lake Havasu City with 197, Golden Valley with 48, Fort Mohave with 85 and Mohave Valley with 32. The locations of the remaining deaths are not specified by the county on its website.

Broken down by cities and communities, the county has recorded 8,951 cases in Kingman, 8,433 cases in Lake Havasu City, 7,686 in Bullhead City, 2,659 in Fort Mohave, 1,735 in Golden Valley, 1,209 in Mohave Valley and 572 in Beaver Dam/Littlefield/Colorado City. There have also been 223 cases in Topock, 169 in Dolan Springs, 93 in Meadview and 78 in Yucca. The locations of the remaining cases are not specified.

The age of the average COVID-19 victim in the county is 72.6 years, while the average patient is 45.2 years old. The case fatality rate in the county is 2.8%, meaning 28 of every 1,000 individuals who have contracted the virus have died. Approximately 15.2% of Mohave County residents are known to have been infected.

County health officials have logged 32,598 coronavirus cases since the first local case was reported on March 24, 2020, while the Arizona Department of Health Services has recorded 36,025 cases in the county. The county counts 910 deaths, while the state reports 1,046.

“The county only reports confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, while the state which reports probables as well. Therefore, the county’s numbers and those from the state are not the same,” the county wrote in the news release.

According to county health officials, 27,900 county residents are known to have recovered from the disease since the beginning of the pandemic.

Daily testing data from AZDHS for Monday, Nov. 29 revealed 122 new cases from 325 tests for a positivity rate of 39%.

The positivity rate was 17% (109/625) on Friday, Nov. 19, 21% (80/378) on Sunday, Nov. 21; 47% (83/176) on Monday, Nov. 22; and less than 1% (4/908) on Thursday, Nov. 25.

Since the beginning of the pandemic 309,041 tests have been conducted on county residents and 12.4% have been positive, according to AZDHS.

Statewide on Tuesday, Nov. 30 AZDHS was reporting 77 additional deaths and 2,971 new cases from 17,043 tests for a positivity rate of 17%. More than 1,269,000 Arizonans have contracted the virus and 22,307 have died.

Nationwide, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine was reporting nearly 49 million confirmed cases and 779,565 deaths the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 30.

Globally, Johns Hopkins was reporting more than 5.2 million deaths from more than 262 million confirmed cases on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

Vaccines are readily available at area pharmacies, physician offices and the Kingman Regional Medical Center COVID Services office at the corner of Stockton Hill Road and Detroit Avenue.

Residents age 5 and up can now be vaccinated, and booster shots are available for all persons age 18 and older if it’s been six months since they received their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two months since they’ve received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

To curtail virus spread, public health officials recommend that the unvaccinated maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from others, wash their hands thoroughly and frequently, and wear a face covering when social distancing isn’t possible.

For some patients, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, or no symptoms at all.

For others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Some individuals with the virus, including those who have been fully vaccinated, can exhibit no symptoms, but are still capable of transmitting the disease.

The Kingman medical service area includes Kingman, New-Kingman/Butler, Chloride, Valentine, Meadview, Wikieup, Yucca, White Hills, Hackberry, Peach Springs, Valle Vista and Oatman.