MOHAVE COUNTY – The Arizona Department of Health Services is sending personnel to Mohave County to conduct COVID-19 testing at seven long term health care facilities. They will be testing patients and staff members for the coronavirus, according to Mohave County Department of Public Health Director Denise Burley.
Burley told Mohave County Supervisors Monday that the state agency was also expected to send Personal Protective equipment if needed at those facilities. She also said the agency hoped to mobilize staff to backfill nursing homes where operations are impacted by the infection of its staff members.
The Board voted in support of restructuring the age ranges when reporting those who test positive for the coronavirus. Each new positive case will be placed in one of the following age brackets; 0-18, 19-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90 and 91+.
The new bracketing is a little more narrow and age specific than what was previously used. For instance, the county had previously reported one infected person as being “younger than 20” and some others in the 20-44 range.
Burley had previously been unable to tell the Board how many people in the county have recovered from COVID-19. Burley said at least 73 people have recovered and she said they’d likely be considered a new case if they subsequently tested positive again.
Board member Buster Johnson asked what citizens or employees should do if they know that restaurants and other businesses are not complying with national and state health directives issued for the pandemic. He said his office is getting lots of non-compliance complaint calls.
Deputy county attorney Ryan Esplin said concerned citizens and employees can call law enforcement officials or their local elected leaders if they wish. He said litigation is another available remedy.
Esplin said the marketplace will also sort some of this out. He said businesses and employers may gravitate toward compliance when they learn customers are going elsewhere given their concerns about health and safety environments and practice.
Esplin said some employees may seek workman’s compensation, if eligible, when they believe they’ve suffered because of alleged compliance failures by their employers. And he said some who suffer non-compliance health related job loss or other injury could, in some instances, be eligible to receive aid under various federal relief compensation packages filtering through lower levels of government.
- Dave Hawkins
