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Coronavirus

COVID strain on Ohio hospitals hasn’t reached Washington County

MARIETTA — The strain on hospital resources that prompted Gov. Mike DeWine to mobilize 1,050 members of the Ohio National Guard has not reached Washington County, but the Memorial Health System is preparing for a potential increase in patients. The COVID-19 census at Marietta Memorial Hospital has remained around 29 recently, said Paige Smith, chief nurse executive for the Memorial Health System. There are four patients in intensive care and four on ventilators, she said Friday. “I would probably say I feel like we’re stable right now,” Smith said. “We’re not seeing a huge ...

Active COVID cases continue rise in West Virginia

CHARLESTON — Active cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus again increased in West Virginia in the 24-hour period from Thursday to Friday morning, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources. The number of cases rose by 355, from 8,735 on Thursday to 9,092 on Friday, the department said in its Friday morning pandemic update. Generally, active cases were last this high around mid-October. State health officials have predicted cases would increase when colder weather arrived and people would spend more time indoors. A slight increase in active cases occurred in Wood County in ...

West Virginia officials preparing for more omicron cases

CHARLESTON — The first case of the omicron variant of COVID has been reported in West Virginia and state officials are bracing for more. Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginia coronavirus czar, made the announcement near the start of Gov. Jim Justice’s virtual pandemic briefing with state reporters on Thursday. Officials said they learned from the Centers for Disease Control of the one omicron case in West Virginia just 20 minutes before the start of Justice’s briefing. It was later identified as an unvaccinated resident of Marion County. But Marsh predicted more omicron cases would be ...

West Virginia reports 400 new COVID cases

CHARLESTON — Active virus cases rose over 400 from Wednesday to Thursday, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The state reported 8,737 current active cases, up from 8,304 reported in the Wednesday morning pandemic update. Cases have been trending upward while the pandemic high was 29,744 on Sept. 16. Active cases in Wood County were at 332 on Thursday, slightly up from 328 on Wednesday. Cases in other local counties (previous day) on Thursday are: Wirt, 22 (25); Wetzel, 44 (46); Roane, 86 (76); Ritchie, 42 (41); Pleasants, 22 (22); Jackson, 71 ...

Wood County moves out of red and into orange on West Virginia COVID map

CHARLESTON — Wood County dropped out of the red zone in the County Alert System Map while two Jackson Countians are among the COVID-19 deaths confirmed Wednesday by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The state reported the deaths of a 67-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man from Jackson County. The death count in Jackson County as of Wednesday is 101 residents since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020 in West Virginia. Also confirmed Wednesday were deaths in Cabell, Greenbrier, Monongalia, Mineral, Raleigh, Marshall, Mason, Berkeley, Jefferson, Harrison, ...

Four Mid-Ohio Valley students among Do it for Babydog drawing winners

PARKERSBURG — Four students from the region have won $10,000 Educational Savings Fund awards in the final drawing of the Do it for Babydog Round 3 vaccination sweepstakes. The students, among the 25 awards announced by the governor, are Braelynn Woods of Ripley, Landen Bartlett of ...