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Active COVID cases rise by 284 in West Virginia

CHARLESTON — Active cases are again over 2,000 in West Virginia where a state agency reported Thursday a spike of almost 300 since Wednesday.

The Department of Health and Human Resources Thursday reported 2,079 active COVID-19 cases statewide, an increase of 284 from the 1,795 cases reported on Wednesday. The department also reported 860 new cases were received between Wednesday and Thursday.

Active cases, which had been dropping since January, were last in the 2,000 range around the first of March. They were below 300 several weeks ago.

The latest variant of the virus, BA2, is mutating faster than previous versions and immunities from the previous mutations don’t work as well, Dr. Clay Marsh, coronavirus adviser to the state, said during the governor’s pandemic briefing on Thursday. Vaccinations and keeping current with booster shots are key to preventing infections and serious complications, he said.

“We’re seeing the virus infect people more than one time,” Marsh said.

Two more counties in the region are now yellow on the County Alert System Map. Pleasants and Wetzel counties went from green, the lowest level of infection rates, to yellow, second lowest, to join Tyler and Ritchie in the yellow zone.

Twenty-six counties are yellow.

The designation is based on the lower of the infection rate and percent positivity. In Tyler County, the percent positivity is in the orange area, second worst below red.

Active cases in Wood County were 25 on Thursday, up from 21 on Wednesday.

Current active cases in local counties (previous day) were: Calhoun 4 (1), Doddridge 2 (3), Gilmer 1 (2), Jackson 17 (13), Pleasants 4 (1), Ritchie 8 (14), Roane 7 (7), Tyler 7 (6), Wetzel 10 (5) and Wirt 3 (4)

Seven more deaths were reported on Thursday, raising the toll since the pandemic started to 6,912 residents.

Two of the deaths were found during the data reconciliation with death certificates by the Bureau of Public Health. The deaths were two women, a 63-year old and a 59-year old from Jackson and Wood counties, respectively.

The other five were a 93-year-old woman from Greenbrier County, a 76-year-old man from Raleigh County, a 90-year-old woman from Raleigh County, a 68-year-old man from Putnam County and a 78-year-old man from Jefferson County.

“We share in the loss of these great West Virginians,” department Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. “Our thoughts and sympathies are extended to these families during their time of grief.”

Hospitalizations increased four to 153 on Thursday, 67 of those unvaccinated. Intensive care unit admissions were at 20, five unvaccinated, with 10 patients on a ventilator, five unvaccinated.

One pediatric case was reported.

Twenty-five staff and 18 inmate cases were reported by the Division of Corrections. Three inmate cases are at the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County and two are at Parkersburg Community Relations.

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