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PARKERSBURG -- Active COVID-19 cases continue to drop while hospitalizations remain at peak levels, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
The state reported 13,344 active cases as of Wednesday, slightly down from 13,542 in Tuesday's pandemic update. The drop in active cases has been steep since the pandemic high of 29,744 on Sept. 17, which officials said was driven by the unvaccinated and the more infectious delta variant of the virus.
Locally, active cases as of Wednesday (previous day) are: Calhoun, 34 (35); Doddridge, 63 (63); Gilmer, 30 (35); Jackson, 249 (244); Pleasants, 67 (78); Ritchie, 106 (107); Roane, 129 (118); Tyler, 105 (113); Wetzel, 151 (149); Wirt, 67 (69); Wood, 670 (684).
State health officials predict hospitalizations and deaths will remain steady for several weeks to come despite the decline of active cases.
The state reported 974 people in the hospital (81.4 percent unvaccinated) with 298 patients in an intensive care unit (86.9 percent unvaccinated) and 187 on ventilators (90.4 percent unvaccinated). The numbers are a slight decrease from Tuesday.
Memorial Health System Wednesday said 72 people were in the hospital with COVID-19, 61 of those unvaccinated. Fourteen patients are in the ICU with 13 unvaccinated and 12 people are on ventilators, 11 unvaccinated.
Numbers from WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center were not posted Wednesday.
Booster shots will greatly improve protection against the virus, Dr. Clay Marsh, the state's coronavirus czar, said during Gov. Jim Justice's briefing Wednesday.
The booster shots, of which only the Pfizer vaccine has so far been approved by the federal government, will have been administered at most nursing facilities by Friday, with all such facilities expected to be completed next week, said James Hoyer, who leads the interagency task force on vaccines.
The state Wednesday confirmed another 64 deaths from the virus, which includes many from a reconciliation with death certificates by the Bureau of Public Health.
The death toll since the pandemic began in 2020 is 3,642 people.
Among the deaths confirmed in the 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday were an 86-year-old woman from Doddridge County, a 93-year-old woman from Pleasants County and a 52-year-old woman from Doddridge County. Deaths around the state ranged in age from 52 to 94.
Thirty-seven deaths were reported from the reconciliation, including a 68-year-old man from Pleasants County, a 48-year-old woman from Jackson County, a 73-year-old man from Wetzel County, a 75-year-old man from Tyler County, a 91-year-old man from Wetzel County, a 53-year-old woman from Wetzel County, a 77-year-old woman from Gilmer County, a 54-year-old man from Tyler County, a 53-year-old man from Wetzel County, a 79-year-old man from Calhoun County and a 72-year-old man from Wood County.
"Today's news of additional losses is a heartbreaking reminder of the threat this virus presents," DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "Vaccines are safe and effective, and if you are eligible, please do your part to end the pandemic by scheduling a COVID vaccine."
On the County Alert System, Wetzel, Tyler, Wood, Jackson and Wirt are among the 30 red-level counties in the state. Red is the highest level for infection. Wetzel was orange, the second highest level, on Tuesday.
Pleasants, Ritchie, Doddridge and Roane are orange. Gilmer is yellow, the second lowest level, upgraded from the mid-level gold, and Calhoun is green, the lowest level. Four counties are green in the state.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department will hold a Pfizer booster dose clinic 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Pavilion at City Park by appointment only. Recipients must have been born before Oct. 1, 1956, and received the Pfizer vaccine, with the second dose administered before April 1.
The health department from noon to 4 p.m. today will hold a free drive-thru and walk-up COVID testing event at the DuPont Employee Recreation Center, 252 Downey Road, Washington, W.Va.
COVID-19 walk-in vaccination clinics are held 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays at Marietta Memorial Hospital, 401 Matthew St.