Active West Virginia COVID-19 cases drop again
13 deaths reported, 8 from reconciliation
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From staff reports
CHARLESTON -- Active cases of COVID-19 in West Virginia continued to decrease, according to Tuesday's statistics from the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
It's the second consecutive report with a decrease after cases rose each weekday since April 19, when they were at 446.
Nationwide, there has been a spike in cases attributed to a highly contagious subvariant of the omicron mutation. That subvariant, BA.2.12.1, has been detected in at least three West Virginia counties, state officials said last week.
Active cases in local counties on Tuesday (Monday) were: Calhoun, 9 (10); Doddridge, 1 (1); Gilmer, 0 (1); Jackson, 5 (4); Pleasants, 2 (3); Ritchie, 2 (1); Roane, 3 (3); Tyler, 1 (1); Wetzel, 5 (5); Wirt, 1 (1); Wood, 13 (15).
The DHHR reported 13 deaths attributed to the virus, including an 86-year-old Calhoun County woman. Eight deaths were reported from the Bureau for Public Health's ongoing data reconciliation check with official death certificates. The deaths -- which occurred in November, December, March and April -- included a 79-year-old Wood County man.
Of the 13 deaths, the youngest was a 55-year-old man from Mingo County and the oldest was a 98-year-old woman from Kanawha County.
"Too many families are experiencing the pain of loss due to COVID-19," DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "We must each do all that we can to stop the pandemic, including getting the vaccine and booster shot."
Calhoun County was the only one in the state registering yellow on the County Alert System map. That's the second lowest level on the color-coded map measuring spread of the virus based on the rate of new cases per 100,000 people or percentage of positive tests, whichever is lower.
Hospitalizations remained steady at 100, with 53 of those individuals considered vaccinated, meaning they received at least two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shot or the single Johnson & Johnson dose. It does not take into account whether a person has received a first or second booster.
There were 23 patients in intensive care units, 12 unvaccinated, and 14 on ventilators, eight unvaccinated. Two pediatric cases were hospitalized.