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CHARLESTON -- Active cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus remained about the same from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
The state reported 1,855 active cases on Wednesday, compared to 1,854 on Tuesday. Another 556 new cases of the virus were received in the 24-hour period between the Tuesday and Wednesday updates.
Another three deaths also were reported, raising the count since the pandemic started to 7,016 in West Virginia.
Current active cases in local counties (previous day) are: Calhoun 10 (6), Doddridge 6 (6), Gilmer 13 (9), Jackson 13 (11), Pleasants 5 (1), Ritchie 7 (8), Roane 18 (16), Tyler 10 (7), Wetzel 23 (20), Wirt 2 (2) and Wood 64 (68).
Twenty counties are now yellow on the County Alert System Map. Yellow is the second lowest to green based on infection rates. Sixteen counties were yellow on Tuesday.
Local counties in the yellow zone are Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge and Calhoun counties. All other counties in the state are green.
The state has confirmed the deaths of a 73-year-old woman from Putnam County, a 100-year-old man from Berkeley County and a 57-year-old woman from Jefferson County.
"Our hearts go out to these West Virginians and their families," said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. "Let's continue taking every precaution we can to slow the spread of this disease, including vaccination and staying up to date on booster shots."
The department continued cautioning that through June 20, the National Center for Health Statistics will be unable to certify deaths due to a system update affecting all 50 states. The system update could affect West Virginia's ability to report COVID-19 deaths, the state said.
While the Bureau for Public Health's Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services will continue to certify and report deaths using the death reconciliation process, there may be a decrease in deaths reported during this time period.
Thirty-four staff and 156 inmates are active cases in the Division of Corrections. Forty inmates are in the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County.