COVID-19 metrics continued to decline in Coconino County the week ending Feb. 12, according to the latest dashboard data report. The county reported 516 new positive cases for the week, with a decreasing case rate, positivity yield and incidence of COVID-like illness (CLI) in hospitals.
Transmission continues to be in the high category for most metrics. The current case rate of 364.7 per 100,000 individuals (down from 677.8 last week) is over three times the threshold for high transmission. Positivity of testing is closer to the 10% threshold, at 14% (from 19.3% last week). CLI, which is not used to determine overall transmission levels, has fallen into the moderate category, with a rate of 8.9% for the week (from 12.2%, with the threshold being 10%).
In the introduction to Northern Arizona University’s Feb. 11 COVID briefing, President José Luis Cruz Rivera wrote that the week marked a “substantial positive change in the pandemic outlook at NAU.”
The following week’s results of testing conducted on the school’s campus showed a continued decrease in both overall testing rates and the number of positive results.
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A total of 7.4% of the 1,841 tests conducted on the university’s campus the week ending Feb. 12 had positive results, down from 13.1% (out of 2,703 total tests). A majority of positive tests were of NAU-affiliated individuals (78) and the university is currently managing 48 cases among its students (0.3% of student enrollment on the Flagstaff campus, according to the Friday community briefing).
Monday marked the start of reduced COVID restrictions at the university, though its operating status and mitigation policies remained largely the same. These changes were described in the community briefing as “[NAU will] reduce restrictions on food at events, begin intramural sports and encourage re-engagement for additional in-person events and activities.”
NAU’s operating status is unchanged, according Friday’s community briefing.
“Given current trends, we expect the committees to discuss how best to adapt our strategy to ensure safety while providing more opportunities for community engagement,” Cruz Rivera wrote of the university’s plans for the following week.
NAU also began distributing N95 masks to employees and students this week.
Student mask distributions will take place on Wednesday at the Union Pedway (11 a.m.- 2 p.m.) and Thursday at the Health and Learning Center (1-2 p.m.). Masks are available to university employees on request.
A total of 16 county residents were hospitalized with COVID this week, almost half the previous week’s total of 31. Deaths rose, however, as there were five this week compared to three the prior week.
The number of tests conducted in the county also continued to decrease, with a total of 4,916 the week of Feb. 12, down from 6,700 the week before.
Tribal communities had the highest case rate for the week, with an incidence of 861.1 per 100,000. Residents younger than the age of 20 had the highest case rate (404 per 100,000) and positivity yield (18.8%), followed by 45- to 54-year-olds — who had a case rate of 402 per 100,000.
Omicron continues to be the most prevalent variant in both the county and the state, with 17,206 omicron genomes sequenced in the state as of Feb. 18. According to TGen’s Arizona COVID-19 sequencing dashboard, 98.93% of genomes sequenced in the state the week ending Feb. 12 were of omicron and 0.51% were of the delta variant.
Other community members can request an N95 mask through North County Healthcare’s website.
Metrics at Flagstaff K-12 schools continued to fall while remaining in high transmission. Flagstaff charter schools reported a case incidence of 261 per 100,000 (from 653 the week before) and a positivity rate of 10.1% (from 16.9%). Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) reported an incidence of 289 (from 654) and a positivity rate of 11.1% (17.1% the week before).
FUSD reported a total of 40 cases in its locations the week ending Feb. 12, less than half than the previous week’s total of 93. Flagstaff High School had the highest total cases for the week (10), followed by Kinsey (8) and Sechrist Elementaries (4). Killip and Leupp elementary schools reported no cases for the week, as did Summit High School. The district has reported a total of 2,466 cases in the 2021-2022 school year so far.
Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Cheryl Mango-Paget announced Thursday that families of K-12 students impacted by COVID “can now request wraparound support services, such as groceries, lodging and laundry.”
Families whose student had a positive test result after July 1, 2021, can fill out a reimbursement request form that requires proof of payment in some cases. More information, including the application, can be found at coconino.az.gov/K12COVID19.
