10 dead in Mohave County from COVID

KINGMAN – Mohave County has experienced 10 more COVID-19 deaths and 101 new confirmed cases, the Mohave County Department of Public Health reported on Wednesday, April 13. The report covered the two-week period ending at noon on Wednesday.

It raised the death toll in the county, according to Arizona Department of Health Services, to 1,434 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of cases recorded in the county increased to 57,364, the state reported.

The Kingman medical service area leads the county with 14,911 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, followed by Bullhead City with 12,526 cases and Lake Havasu City with 12,405. Golden Valley has logged 2,660 cases. The death toll by community is no longer reported.

According to the county, Mohave County has been in the low-transmission threshold for the past four weeks as cases decline drastically from their peak in January, when there were several thousand per week.

“For the fourth week in a row the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has categorized the COVID-19 transmission level in the county to be low,” the county news release noted. “This is on trend with state and national levels.”

The county’s next COVID-19 update will be issued on Wednesday, April 27.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, 46.4% of eligible county residents have received COVID-19 vaccines, which have proven effective at preventing the disease and lessening the severity of breakthrough illnesses.

That places Mohave far below the 75% vaccination rate achieved statewide. According to AZDHS, less than half of county residents – 82,324 of about 213,000 – are fully vaccinated.

The average ages of reported cases in the county so far this month is 51.2 years, down from 61.5 last month, but higher than the 47.2 years average for the entirety of the pandemic, the county reported.

Since the beginning of the pandemic 411,531 tests have been conducted on county residents and 15.1% have been positive, according to AZDHS.

Statewide AZDHS was reporting 142 additional deaths and 2,777 new cases for the week ending Wednesday, April April 13. More than 2,016,797 Arizonans have contracted the virus and 29,823 have died.

Nationwide, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine was reporting nearly 81 million confirmed cases and 987,595 deaths on Thursday, April 14. The number of new cases in the United States increased by 20% in the past week, primarily due to surges in the Northeast.

John Hopkins was reporting more than 502 million cases and nearly 6.2 million deaths worldwide the morning of Thursday, April 14.

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. Treatments for COVID-19 are also now available.

Residents age 5 and up can now be vaccinated, and a second booster shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines are now recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for all persons age 50 and older if it’s been at least four months since they received their first booster shot.

To curtail virus spread, health officials recommend 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.

Free COVID-19 home test kits are now available from the federal government at COVIDTests.gov.

Free N95 masks are also available to the public at many pharmacies and community health centers.