Drinking water dries up as virus devastates Arizona tribe
About 1 in 10 residents of the White Mountain Apache Tribe have tested positive for the new coronavirus, with about 1 in 3 tests coming back positive, tribal officials said.
At the height of the pandemic, the tribe also is experiencing a water shortage — a frequent summertime issue that further complicates the situation as cases continue to climb.
The tribe on Thursday had 2,106 identified cases and 30 confirmed deaths, according to officials. With an estimated population of 15,515, the White Mountain Apache Tribe has about 135.7 cases per 1,000 residents.
That means roughly 1 in 10 of the tribe’s residents have been infected with COVID-19. The rate has more than doubled since early June when the tribe had about 64.6 cases per 1,000 population, data shows.
Its infection rate surpasses that of the Navajo Nation, which at one point had the highest infection rate in the country but has recently experienced a flattening of the curve.
By comparison, based on data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control, Arizona’s infection rate is 1,831.6 cases per 100,000, or 18.3 per 1,000. New York City’s infection rate is 2,641.5 cases per 100,000, or 26.4 per 1,000 as of July 16.
“The virus is not immune to anyone. It can attack anyone and the Tribal members are just as vulnerable,” White Mountain Apache Tribe Chairwoman Gwendena Lee-Gatewood wrote in an email to The Arizona Republic.
Water shortages an ongoing issue during COVID-19 pandemic
The tribe confirmed its first COVID-19 case on April 1 — more than two months after the state’s first confirmed case in late January. In the course of three months, its cases now exceed 2,000, with more than half of the people falling ill deemed to be recovered.
Lee-Gatewood said the virus’ spread could be attributed to several factors, including limited access to water.
“We have serious water shortages during the summer months. Sometimes there is no water at all for showers and basic drinking water needs,” she said. “This creates a serious health and safety hazard, especially for the very young and our elders.”
More than 600 miles of streams on the tribe’s land remained untapped while 80% of the tribe’s population depended on a “failing” wellfield built in the 1990s, according to Lee-Gatewood. The community of Carrizo has no access to drinkable water at all, requiring residents to haul it in, she said.
“Without a storage reservoir, there is not enough drinking water, and the problem will only get worse as our population grows,” she said.
“The dependency of the Phoenix Valley on water from our Homeland has influenced the non-development of water on our land for over 100 years,” Lee-Gatewood continued.
She explained that while millions of federal dollars were spent to construct dams along the Salt and Verde rivers to provide water to the Valley, “virtually no funding” has been provided to the tribe to develop water infrastructure of its own.
About 35% of tribe tested
Lee-Gatewood said the tribe’s COVID-19 data was compiled through Indian Health Service, which operates the
Whiteriver Indian Hospital and Cibecue Health Center.
The hospital in Whiteriver is a 40bed facility with more than 100 staff members, and the center in Cibecue is comprised of three staff members, according to the health service’s website.
In addition to its tribal residents, the tribe’s data also includes a small number of residents who test positive elsewhere, non-Native people and members from other tribes, according to James McAuley, Whiteriver Indian Hospital clinical director.
As of Thursday, the White Mountain Apache Tribe administered 6,518 COVID-19 tests, with 133 pending. Initially, testing for the tribe was limited by strict criteria, McAuley said.
Now, he said, essentially anyone in the area who wants a test can get one. Between 600 and 700 people were tested a week, he said.
The tests are sent to the Valley for results, which could take days, according to McAuley.
“We try to help people understand — testing is not a simple solution to stopping COVID. It may help, but in general, everyone should assume that they may be shedding the virus or the people around them may be shedding the virus — no matter what test is done or pending,” he said. “The best control strategy will be to do our very best to socially distance.”
According to McAuley, about 35% of the tribe has been tested so far. He noted the percentage was imprecise because some residents have been tested twice and not all tests were given to tribal members.
“The majority of our testing is done in the context of contact investigations, rather than more random community testing,” he said. “This is very likely leading to such high rates of positive tests (about 33%).”
While he can’t say for sure what’s behind the virus’ extensive spread, McAuley said rates of secondary infections in houses with a case were very high.
In many cases, he said, about 75% to 100% of a household’s members were infected.
“When there are many people in a house, this leads to large numbers,” McAuley said. “We have also observed that many individuals spend time living in several different homes — sometimes in one, then with a relative or friend. This seems to encourage spread.”
Tribe accepting donations
The tribe’s chairwoman signed several orders to help curb the spread of COVID-19, including prohibiting large gatherings, requiring residents to stay at home and nightly and weekend-long curfews.
While its housing authority last week was awarded $3 million in federal COVID-19 aid to build transitional housing for residents affected by the virus, LeeGatewood said the tribe still needed assistance.
She confirmed a GoFundMe campaign titled “The White Mountain Apache Tribe COVID-19 Relief Fund” was approved by the tribe. As of Thursday, the campaign had raised more than $115,000 of its $1 million goal.
The tribe was also accepting nonmonetary donations at 612 S. Chief Avenue, Whiteriver, AZ 85941.
Needed are water, Level 1 and Level 2 sterile gowns, cleaning products and non-perishable food items, Lee-Gatewood said.