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Coronavirus

Justice announces death of 31-year-old corrections officer with COVID

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice announced Monday that a 31-year-old correctional officer died over the weekend after being hospitalized with the virus in December. “This is just a kid, I mean for crying out loud, with all kinds of life in front of him,” Justice said. Cpl. Christopher Scarberry, who worked at the Western Regional Jail in Cabell County, is survived by his wife and three stepchildren, Justice said. The governor offered condolences and prayers for his friends and family and praised the work of correctional officers during the nearly two-year-old pandemic. “From the ...

Active COVID cases, hospital numbers continue drop in West Virginia

CHARLESTON — Statewide hospitalizations of COVID patients dropped below 1,000 Monday. The Department of Health and Human Resources reported 986 cases, of which 66.4 percent, 655 people are unvaccinated. Intensive care unit admissions were at 215, 173 unvaccinated, and 120 patients were on a ventilator, 98 unvaccinated. The most people in the hospital in the latest surge was 1,100 on Feb. 1, which bested the previous record of 1,012 on Sept. 24. WVU Medicine Camden Clark reported 72 COVID patients, 25 of whom are fully vaccinated. Ten patients are in the ICU, three of those fully ...

Wood County BOE to discuss school bond, mask policy at meeting

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Schools Board of Education will vote on the proposed $60.85 million bond issue and updates to the mask policy at 6 p.m. today at the Jefferson Elementary Center. The board is scheduled to vote on calling a special election on the bond for May 10, primary election day in West Virginia. The bond call includes closure of existing Lubeck Elementary School and the construction of a new Lubeck Elementary, the closure of the existing Neale Elementary and Vienna Elementary schools and the construction of a new consolidated elementary school and the closure of ...

West Virginia COVID cases drop to December levels

CHARLESTON — The number of active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia has dropped to levels not seen since the end of last year, but hospitalizations remain above delta peak levels. According to data from the state Department of Health and Human Resources, active COVID-19 cases – caused by ...

West Virginia reports decrease in COVID hospitalizations

CHARLESTON — Hospitalizations of COVID-infected patients decreased again in West Virginia, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources on Friday. The state reported 1,038 patients in the hospital with 699 of those, or 67.3 percent unvaccinated. Hospitalizations were at 1,061 on Thursday and with the most so far in the latest surge at 1,100 on Tuesday. The state also reported 232 patients are in an intensive care unit, 179 unvaccinated, and 122 patients on a ventilator, 101 unvaccinated. WVU Medicine Camden Clark reported its lowest COVID-19 census since the end of ...

Wood County gold on West Virginia COVID map

CHARLESTON — Wood County dropped to gold on West Virginia’s COVID-19 County Alert System map for the first time in months Thursday. Gold is in the middle of the five-color scale that measures the spread of the coronavirus based on the lower of two factors — the rate of new cases per 100,000 people in a given period or percentage of tests that come back positive. Wood County has been on one of the highest levels, red or orange, since August. The Wood County Board of Education voted Aug. 30 to require masks in schools when the alert level was at orange or red. The approved policy ...