The acceleration in COVID-19 cases in the Verde Valley has continued, with 292 positive cases in the week from Monday, Nov. 9, through Monday, Nov. 16 — nearly tripling the high of 99 cases in a week during the June and July wave.
Nearly every community in the Verde Valley is showing accelerating spread, with Cottonwood and Camp Verde in the lead with 106 new cases and 55 new cases in the seven days before Tuesday, Nov. 17, respectively, bringing the two municipality’s totals to 540 and 318 since the beginning of the pandemic. Sedona had 27 new cases in the past week, and the Village of Oak Creek had 12, bringing their totals to 187 and 58, respectively.
Clarkdale, Cornville and Rimrock have seen 10 new cases, 9 new cases, and 7 new cases in the past week, respectively, bringing their totals to 91, 71 and 91. For the first time, the county has begun counting cases in Jerome as their own location, with 8 total cases there, at least 2 in the past week. There is one additional case listed as “other” in the Verde Valley.
There was a COVID-19 outbreak at Cottonwood Fire Department, leading to 14 personnel testing positive for the virus. According to Cottonwood Fire Chief Ron Sauntman, all COVID-positive personnel were quarantined for 10 days, though none experienced more than mild symptoms.
Similar spread has been occurring on the other side of the mountains, with the Prescott Valley area reporting 214 cases in the past week.
The high spread has reached the county’s public health offices, with Yavapai County Community Health Services closing from Nov. 4, through Nov. 9, due to several employees testing positive. The office has mostly returned to normal, with some minor gaps in the speed of case reporting for the county, and a few employees still isolating.
“Just like any other business, this is what we would expect them to do as well,” YCCHS Public Information Officer Terri Farneti said. “We follow extreme precautions in the clinic — temperatures when people come in, hand washing, masks — you can have those protocols at work but you can’t control what people do out of work. I think it was community spread and social gatherings.”
Farneti worries that “COVID fatigue” has begun to set in right at the time when the area is being hit with its worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic. The county places the Halloween weekend as the time when the new wave started spreading in earnest and sees travel, as well as small indoor gatherings — not large outdoor events — as the main means of transmission.
“There were many little small outbreaks around. It wasn’t like it was just one thing,” Farneti said. “It’s easier to isolate when it’s one thing.” The extreme rise in cases has not led to quite as much increase in hospitalizations and deaths. Verde Valley Medical Center had just six positive cases and 15 patients with pending tests as of Monday, Nov. 16. There have been nine COVID deaths in the county since the beginning of November, with 6 in the Verde Valley. Public health officials attribute the lag in hospitalizations and deaths to younger populations taking a larger share of new infections, as well as improvements in the ability of doctors to treat the virus through treatments such as Remdesivir, steroids and antibody treatments. There is also better understanding of how to use ventilators for severe case patients. Farneti also warned about the coming Thanksgiving holiday, encouraging people to limit the size of gatherings and spend time outside if possible. For those traveling, Farneti urged getting flu shots, avoiding road stops as much as possible through bringing food for the journey, and wearing masks and sanitizing whenever interacting at gas stations, hotels or bathrooms.
“We put the messages out there about how to stay safe and how to stay healthy,” Farneti said. “But we can’t force people to listen or believe it’s real.”
