CHARLESTON — Five residents from the region are among the 17 confirmed deaths from the COVID-19 virus reported Thursday morning by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

The youngest was a 33-year-old woman from Kanawha County, the state said.

Among the deaths were an 84-year-old man from Wood County, a 65-year-old man from Wood County, a 52-year-old man from Ritchie County, a 56-year-old woman from Wetzel County and an 89-year-old man from Wetzel County.

The state also confirmed the deaths of a 53-year-old woman from Mercer County, a 79-year-old woman from Raleigh County, a 91-year-old woman from Preston County, a 70-year-old man from Kanawha County, a 52-year-old man from Kanawha County, a 45-year-old man from Greenbrier County, a 77-year-old man from Marion County, a 67-year-old woman from Preston County, a 46-year-old man from Kanawha County, an 89-year-old woman from Raleigh County and a 56-year-old woman from Harrison County.

The state has confirmed 3,313 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Statewide hospitalizations, which exceed the high mark set in January, continue to rise. As of Thursday, the state reported 893 people in the hospital, 275 in an intensive care unit and 160 patients on a ventilator.

Of the hospitalized, 750 are not vaccinated, 250 unvaccinated people are in ICUs and 149 of the 160 patients on ventilators are unvaccinated, the state said.

The state also reported a total of 105 deaths of people who were fully vaccinated, about 5 percent of the 2,214 deaths that occurred since vaccinations began.

Forty-six counties are at red, the highest level of infection and percent positivity on the County Alert System, including Wood, Wirt, Wetzel, Tyler, Jackson, Ritchie, Roane, Doddridge and Calhoun counties. Pleasants County is orange, second highest, and Gilmer is gold, midway on the severity levels.

Statewide, six counties are orange, two are gold and one is yellow, the second-lowest level.

The state reported 28,773 active cases, up from 27,764 on Wednesday. There were 2,135 new cases received in the 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Active cases in local counties as of Thursday (previous day) were: Calhoun, 236 (230); Doddridge, 146 (145); Gilmer, 43 (39); Jackson, 306 (297); Pleasants, 130 (125); Ritchie, 235 (204); Roane, 206 (188); Tyler, 258 (245); Wetzel, 379 (359); Wirt, 124 (128); and Wood, 1,436 (1,392).