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CHARLESTON -- Active COVID-19 cases dropped from Monday to Tuesday in West Virginia where hospitalizations of virus-infected patients also decreased.
The Department of Health and Human Resources Tuesday said 139 patients with COVID-19 complications statewide are in the hospital. Of those, 64 are unvaccinated.
More than 150 people were reported in the hospital on Monday. The most people in the hospital were in late January and early February with more than 1,000 patients.
The state on Tuesday also reported 22 patients in an intensive care unit, 11 unvaccinated, with nine on a ventilator, two unvaccinated.
Seven pediatric hospitalizations were reported with three in an ICU and one on a ventilator.
State health officials earlier this month said the nationwide surge of cases, mostly from a variant of the BA2 mutation, has moved into West Virginia.
Active cases as of Tuesday were 2,236, down from 2,501 on Monday. The state also reported it has received 548 new cases since the Monday pandemic report from the department.
Current active cases in local counties (previous day): Calhoun 4 (6), Doddridge 5 (4), Gilmer 4 (2), Jackson 4 (7), Pleasants 2 (4), Ritchie 8 (12), Roane 19 (16), Tyler 5 (8), Wetzel 14 (21), Wirt 8 (8), Wood 46 (46).
Fourteen more deaths have been added to the virus fatality count, raising the total to 6,932 in West Virginia since the pandemic began more than two years ago. Nationwide, deaths exceeded 1 million two weeks ago.
Twelve of the deaths were from the review of death certificates by the Bureau of Public Health. Those included a 101-year-old woman from Wood County and residents from Kanawha, Harrison, Boone, Berkeley, Mingo, Wyoming, Ohio, Cabell, Summers and Raleigh counties who have died since February.
"As we share this sad news, we pause to remember each West Virginian," department Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "Each life lost is one too many, and we must do everything we can to stop the pandemic including getting vaccinated and boosted."
The Brown School of Public Health last week reported more than 3,500 fatalities in West Virginia could have been prevented through vaccinations. More 5,800 deaths have occurred after vaccines became available in December 2020 in West Virginia.
The Division of Corrections reported 33 staff and 15 inmate cases. Three of the inmate cases were at Parkersburg Community Corrections.