SHOW LOW – The recent outbreak of COVID-19 at the White Mountain Community Dance Hall in Linden on June 11th has people asking a lot of questions, especially whether the people who have been infected with the virus are actually COVID-19 or maybe the new delta had variant.
At least two of the people who contracted the virus in the hall recently reported they had the new strain, but that still doesn’t match results from Navajo County or the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS ) on July 7th.
On June 18, Ken Baker, president of 501 © (3) dance hall, and Virginia, his wife, the treasurer, learned of four positive cases of COVID-19. They immediately posted notices in the dance hall building, on the hall’s website and on the Facebook page, contacted Juniper Ridge, whose residents frequent the dance hall, and sent emails to those who signed up with email addresses , and contacted The Independent.
They held an emergency board meeting and, on the advice of the doctor, two of the people who tested positive closed the dance hall for two weeks, hoping to reopen on July 2nd.
The number of people they contacted continued to increase and when they reached 20 the board met again on June 29 and decided to close the hall until the 2022 season to keep people safe.
Virginia kept a list of everyone who called and reported they had the virus. They received contact information, including whether or not they were vaccinated. Nine of the 20 told her they had been vaccinated.
June 11, attributed to the unveiling, was the largest number of visitors to the dance hall since it opened in April. They signed 70 people that night.
The independent contacted Janelle Linn, director of health for Navajo County, regarding the outbreak, and on June 21, Linn said she saw Facebook posts about the outbreak over the weekend. Linn had Infection Control Supervisor Cathy Solomon contact the Bakers and get information Virginia had gathered about the 20 that had grown to 22 by then.
The Bakers said they were forwarded to a lady named Hazel for further contact on other positive cases that they might learn about and then Hazel forwarded them to Tomi St. Mars, MSN, RN, CEN who would be should their connection.
On July 4, the Bakers posted on the hall’s Facebook page that George Metzger, one of the dance hall members who contracted the virus, had died, which they reported to Navajo County.
On July 7, the Bakers received news that another person infected with the virus had died. They called Mars and were referred back to Linn, but hadn’t spoken to her by July 7th.
Midnight Moon, Roger Wade and Jeanne Danowski, the entertainers in the hall on the evening of June 11th, are infected with the virus and have published their information on a GoFundMe page, which the Bakers also shared on the hall’s website.
In a July 4th Facebook message to The Independent, Danowski mentioned the new strain – the first time anyone had mentioned it.
“… And thank you for keeping up to date with this new variety. People need to know that it’s the variation of Covid that came from the valley – it’s like “the old Covid on steroids”.
“… people don’t have to be complacent just because they are vaccinated. It doesn’t stop you from getting it and it doesn’t reduce the severity. It seems how strong your immune system is and how healthy you were before you got it. Age didn’t seem to be a factor as we are all 65 and older. It is your health, no matter what age you are and from existing illnesses, ”wrote Danowski, who is currently recovering in rehab.
According to information received by the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) in an email from Public Information Officer Steve Elliott, “COVID-19 remains active in Arizona. Individuals who are not vaccinated should follow CDC guidelines on containment, including avoiding crowd, masking, and maintaining physical distance. The availability of higher transferable variants such as Delta makes this particularly important. “
Linn is unable to discuss the COVID cases because of a 1996 federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects patient data from disclosure without the patient’s consent or knowledge.
In a text to the Independent, Linn wrote: “The COVID-19 virus has several variants, including the Delta variant, which continue to be transmitted in communities across the country. The Navajo County Public Health Service is waiting for the results of tests on the most recent cases to determine what variants might exist in our communities and using that information to monitor. We encourage residents to continue practicing proper hand washing hygiene, staying at home if you feel sick, and considering wearing a mask if social distancing is not an option. We also recommend vaccinations to protect against Covid infection. High vaccination coverage in a community is why we build herd immunity and are an effective way to reduce the spread of disease. “
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