PARKERSBURG — Five cases of the omicron strain of the COVID-19 virus have been found in Wood County and one in Jackson County, the Department of Health and Human Resources reported Sunday.

The department also reported more than 16,000 active cases of the COVID-19 virus in West Virginia, an increase of nearly 2,100 cases since Friday’s update.

The state reported 16,074 cases of the virus, up 2,094 from the 13,980 reported on Friday. New cases received since the last update totaled 2,108 cases, the state said.

Cases have generally increased over the past weeks and the total has been adjusted to reflect the change in guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, changing active status length to five days from 10. Active cases peaked at 29,744 under the old 10-day guideline on Sept. 16.

Active cases in Wood County were listed at 727 on Sunday, up from 596 on Friday’s report.

In other counties in the region, active cases were (previous day): Wirt, 22 (18); Wetzel, 107 (89); Tyler, 37 (28); Roane, 67 (69); Ritchie, 52 (39); Pleasants, 54 (47); Jackson, 93 (141); Gilmer, 27 (18); Doddridge, 17 (10); Calhoun, 31 (24.)

Also updated on Sunday was the statewide hospitalizations, which totaled 778, of which 610 people were unvaccinated. The state reported 208 patients in an intensive care unit, 179 unvaccinated, and 126 people on a ventilator, 115 of them unvaccinated.

Sunday’s total hospitalizations was 16 higher than Friday’s, according to the state. ICU patients increased nine from the Friday report while ventilated patients increased by 10.

State health officials have warned a surge in hospitalizations could occur through omicron variant infections. The most hospitalizations during the pandemic was 1,012 on Sept. 16.

The Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday reported five cases of the omicron strain have been detected in Wood County and one in Jackson. The mutation is considered more infectious than the delta strain, which is considered more transmissible than the original virus.

Ninety-seven cases of the strain have been detected in the state, the most in Monongalia and Berkeley counties, 29 and 25, respectively.