District 2 Supervisor Liz Archuleta — Coconino County Returns to more Restrictive Phase I Operations as COVID-19 Cases Rise

As the Coconino County Re-Entry Plan states, the phases are to be implemented incrementally, pending achieving the identified benchmarks and the reduction of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as the ability to accommodate physical distancing and other mitigation practices. The plan further indicates that when conditions change in such a way that these standards cannot be met, County operations may revert from a less restrictive phase to a more restrictive one.

COVID-19 community transmission levels are determined using metrics defined by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) including incidence rate, percent positivity and COVID-like illness (CLI). Based on the three defined community transmission levels, a classification of Minimal, Moderate or Substantial is determined and provides direction on safe business and school operations.

Although Coconino County’s community transmission classification is Moderate based on the ADHS Benchmarks, the County has an incidence rate of 337.3 per 100,000, three times the threshold established by ADHS, and a percent positivity of 10.2% placing these metrics well within the Substantial transmission category. This is the second consecutive week of both case rate and percent positivity being in the Substantial categories. The CLI incidence rate is technically within the Moderate category reporting at 5.0%. However, the CLI metric is underrepresented as the majority of Coconino County hospitals are not participating in the ADHS syndromic surveillance system that collects data for CLI. The County has requested that ADHS establish benchmarks that reflect available data. In the absence of a remedy and in effort to provide swift action to promote public safety, the County has determined moving to Phase I is the best course of action.

“Considering the widespread community transmission of COVID-19, we encourage families to implement extra holiday precautions. Family gatherings should be limited, and when possible, travel should be avoided,” said Kim Musselman, Coconino County Health and Human Services Interim Director.

For more information on accessing county services and COVID-19 data, please visit www.coconino.az.gov.

Don’t mistakenly spread COVID-19 to friends and family this holiday season.

We just “seeded” a new little garden at Willow Bend, a Kindness Rocks garden. This garden is part of “The Kindness Rocks Project” TM, created by Megan Murphy.

The Kindness Rocks Project, encourages people to leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life. Our mission, is “One message at just the right moment can change someone’s entire day, outlook, or life”. Our purpose is simple, to cultivate connections within communities and lift others up through simple acts of kindness.

Please visit this addition to our gardens and…

There is a small bucket of clean, ready-to-paint, rocks on the edge of this garden, feel free to take a couple home to paint and plant in our Kindness Rocks garden. We have a Facebook page “Kindness Rocks Flagstaff” and we’d love for you to post photos of your painted rocks, (or any that you find), on our page tagged #kindnessrockswillowbend. Feel free to also share any inspiring stories of kindness rocks or other simple acts of kindness.

You can buy rocks to paint at the Landscape Connection, a 5-gal bucketful runs about $3, bring your own bucket and choose your river rock. Regular craft paint works well with a clear, waterproof top coat.

Information as of 11/23/2020:

PLEASE NOTE: Fort Tuthill testing will be closed on:

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 26 – 29, 2020

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 25 – 27, 2020

Friday, January 1, 2021

The Coconino County Health and Human Services has issued a new weekly report entitled COVID-19 Coconino County Weekly Update.

The report is updated weekly on FRIDAY and includes a COVID-19 situation summary, key takeaways, demographic and geographic information, hospitalizations and testing data related to Coconino County residents.

Stay connected with Coconino County and District 2 Supervisor Liz Archuleta on Facebook!

We share several resources on a daily basis that may not be included in our newsletter, so be sure to follow us and stay connected with our work on social media.