The good news is, statewide the number of COVID-19- related cases are decreasing. The bad news is, it may be quite a while until any semblance of true normalcy returns.
That was the message from Sedona City Manager Justin Clifton on Tuesday, July 28, during his regular coronavirus update to the Sedona City Council.
As of Thursday, July 30, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported that there have been 1,698 cases in Yavapai County and 2,933 in Coconino County. Nearly 100 confirmed cases have been reported in the Sedona area, which includes the Village of Oak Creek and Oak Creek Canyon.
“For a long time the deaths in Yavapai County were very, very low, but more recently they have shot up to 56,” Clifton said, noting that the lag time for the reporting of deaths can be substantial. “A lot of that is attributed to the recent outbreak they’ve seen in nursing homes.”
He later added that statistics show a slowing trend in both counties but a bit of reversal among the two.
“This is the first time in looking at a two-week period that Yavapai has had more positive cases than Coconino County,” he said. “For a long time Coconino County, in part because of a really hard hit area in the Navajo Nation and places like Flagstaff, always had more positive cases than Yavapai.”
Clifton shared several charts with council showing that the numbers have declined steadily, attributing that to mask orders in many Arizona cities as well as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s closing of a variety of types of businesses.
“Things are looking better,” Clifton said. “I wouldn’t say things are looking as good as they were before the stay-at-home order was lifted by any means — but a trend in the right direction is certainly a positive thing.”
Nearly two weeks ago, Cottonwood Mayor Tim Elinski extended his mask mandate by another 30 days. He did not bring the matter to council for a vote as he had done previously when council voted 4-3 against a mandate and he imposed it anyway.
In terms of Sedona, Clifton said on July 17, Sedona Mayor Sandy Moriarty’s mandate does not have a firm expiration nor time frame for re-evaluation. Moriarty had imposed the order June 24 without a vote by council.
“That said, the mayor is in multiple meetings each week assessing changes in COVID-19 transmission, hospitalizations, capacity and other key indicators,” Clifton said July 17. “As the governor described in a press conference just yesterday [July 16], we are just starting to see some positive signs of things improving.
“But it is too early to tell if this is a trend that will be sustained. As long as these indicators lead the governor to impose new restrictions or sustain the ones implemented recently, I doubt there will be any reconsideration of the mask mandate. That mandate is more likely to be evaluated when other precautionary measures across the state are lifted.”
