COVID-19 pandemic claims 5 more lives in Mohave County

KINGMAN – The number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to decline in Mohave County.

The county Department of Public Health reported 103 new confirmed cases and five new deaths in a news release on Wednesday, March 9. The report covered the six-day period ending at noon on Wednesday.

Just one of the deaths and 27 of the new cases were logged in the sprawling Kingman medical service area, one of four service areas in the county. But the new cases were concentrated in the age groups over 50 that have accounted for 95% of the deaths in the county since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago.

There were seven new local cases ages 70-79, six ages 50-59, five ages 60-69, three ages 80-89 and one age 90-plus. There were also two new cases in the 40-49 age bracket and one each in the 0-10, 11-19 and 30-39 age groups in the Kingman area.

Elsewhere in the county, The Bullhead City service area logged a county-high 49 new cases, as well as three of the five new deaths. The newly deceased from Bullhead included two residents age 70-79 and one age 60-69. A Kingman patient age 70-79 and a Lake Havasu City resident age 70-79 also perished.

Lake Havasu City experienced 21 new cases during the reporting period, while there were four cases logged in the communities in the Arizona Strip, and two in undetermined locations in the county.

The 103 new cases and five deaths over six days compares to 186 new cases and 10 deaths in the seven-day period ending Thursday, Feb. 10. The county, as well as the state, switched this week to giving COVID-19 updates just once a week on Wednesdays.

There were 833 new cases and 25 deaths in the week ending Thursday, Feb. 10 in Mohave County. In January, at the height of the omicron variant’s spread, the county logged more than 10,000 cases.

Mohave County’s low vaccination rate has contributed to the county’s high case count. Breakthrough cases among vaccinated patients represented less than 10% of all cases in the county in December.

According to AZDHS figures, only 46.1% 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 69.8% vaccination rate logged statewide. According to revised AZDHS figures, less than half of county residents – 81,420 of about 213,000 – are fully vaccinated.

According to the county’s website, Kingman has suffered the most with 333 coronavirus deaths. It is followed by Bullhead City with 310, Lake Havasu City with 239, Golden Valley with 80, Fort Mohave with 101 and Mohave Valley with 37. 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 14,873 cases in Kingman, 12,467 in Bullhead City, 12,327 in Lake Havasu City, 4,256 in Fort Mohave, 2,648 in Golden Valley, 1,860 in Mohave Valley and 782 in Beaver Dam/Littlefield/Colorado City.

There have also been 334 cases in Topock, 262 in Dolan Springs, 130 in Meadview and 124 in Yucca. The locations of the remaining cases are not specified.

The age of the average COVID-19 victim in the county is 72 years, while the average patient is 44.8 years old. The case fatality rate in the county is 2.3%, meaning 23 of every 1,000 individuals who have contracted the virus have died. Approximately 23.9% of Mohave County residents are known to have been infected.

County health officials have logged 51,342 coronavirus cases and 1,193 deaths since the first local case was reported on March 24, 2020. County health officials say 36,992 county residents are known to have recovered from the disease. The state reports probable cases, while the county only reports confirmed cases.

Since the beginning of the pandemic 399,001 tests have been conducted on county residents and 15.5% have been positive, according to AZDHS.

Statewide on Wednesday, March 2 AZDHS was reporting 382 additional deaths and 6,549 new cases from 140,075 tests for a positivity rate of 5% during the week ending March 9. More than 1,987,000 Arizonans have contracted the virus and 28,090 have died.

Nationwide, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine was reporting more than 79.4 million confirmed cases and 964,350 deaths on Thursday, March 10.

John Hopkins was reporting more than 452 million cases and more than six million deaths worldwide the morning of Wednesday, March 10.

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 booster shots are recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for all persons age 12 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.

Free COVID-19 home test kits are now available from the federal government at COVIDTests.gov. The free kits are limited to four per household.

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

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.