Navajo County Health Director Jeff Lee appeared before the Navajo County Board of Supervisors last week to present an update on the Coronavirus and how it pertains to Navajo County.
According to Lee, only 12 cases have been found in the United States to date and only one of those in Arizona, which was in Maricopa County. Lee said, “In addition to those 12 cases, there have been 225 people tested and all of those tests came back negative.
“First and foremost, we are just bringing awareness. The Center for Disease Control is still calling this a low-risk virus in the United States,” he said. “Most of that has to do with our health care infrastructure, travel restrictions and entry methods that the CDC has put in place. We don’t think, currently, that we will see the effects that other countries are seeing.”
He did explain that the presence of the virus in Arizona is inevitable. “We do know it’s going to come. When or if we will see it in Navajo County, that is what we are preparing for now.”
Lee stated that his department is on weekly conference calls with the Arizona Department of Health Services and with the CDC. Information is received about incoming travelers and about isolation and quarantine. “We are also going to start a weekly internal meeting to get all of our health partners on the same page so that if we do have a suspect case, we are prepared for that. We also plan on keeping in contact with the public through our social media, really giving the public what they need to know about their risk level and how to protect themselves. On our website now, there are links to the CDC that has more detailed information,” stated Lee.
The website is www.navajocountyaz.gov. Information from the health department can be found by following the drop-down menu and selecting Public Health Services.
“The Coronavirus is serious,” Lee concluded. “I don’t want to say that it’s not, but to put it in perspective, we are still in the midst of flu season. As of last week, the flu statistics for the State of Arizona showed 17,000 cases of flu and 23 flu related deaths since Oct. 1. If you haven’t gotten your flu shot there is still time.”
In other business and in the absence of Supervisor Lee Jack, the board:
* Entered an executive session to discuss approving a proposed settlement in an Arizona Tax Court case, CenturyLink v. Arizona Department of Revenue and Navajo County et. al. No public discussion was held the board approved the settlement.
* Adopted a resolution designating polling places and poll workers for the Presidential Preference Election on March 17.
* Approved the warrant and voucher report over $1,000.
* Approved constable reports for January for Snowflake, Kayenta, Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside precincts.
* Approved a contract signed by the county manager for professional services for a social media campaign regarding the 2020 census. The contract awarded to Blossom Digital Marketing will be month to month with varying compensation based on need.
* Approved Fiscal Year 2019/20 fund transfers for November and December 2019.
* Appointed the following as Republican Precinct Committeemen for their respective precincts: Lewis G. Carlassara of Snowflake; Thomas Allen Davis, Show Low; Sherry M. Davis, Show Low; Michael Paul Riendeau, Show Low; Billy Joel Smith, Show Low; John Benjamin Dorsett, Lakeside; and Kenneth Leon Garvin Jr., Show Low.
* Approved a land purchase agreement for the procurement of right-of-way from Ava and Larry Baldwin for a portion of Obed Road near Joseph City that crosses private property. The county will procure the land for $1,600.
* Heard a quarterly report as written by Patricia Stevens, representative of the White Mountain Lakes County Recreation Improvement District. Stevens was not present and the report reflected an uptick in lake usage and a plea to the supervisors to address ongoing parking and permitting issues.
The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the board chambers located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
