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CHARLESTON -- No deaths from the COVID-19 coronavirus were reported on Friday, but active cases rose by more than 130 since Thursday, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
Hospitalizations statewide also jumped up by 26 between Thursday and Friday, according to the department.
The state reported 3,358 active cases, up 137 from Thursday. Almost 1,000 new cases of the virus, 992, were received in the 24-hour period between Thursday and Friday mornings.
"Big jump," Gov. Jim Justice said during his Friday morning press briefing.
The number of active cases in West Virginia hasn't been this high since February.
Active cases in local counties Friday (Thursday) were: Calhoun, 8 (8); Doddridge, 9 (8); Gilmer, 11 (13); Jackson, 42 (43); Pleasants, 11 (13); Ritchie, 11 (11); Roane, 26 (27); Tyler, 7 (9); Wetzel, 24 (30); Wirt, 6 (3); and Wood, 162 (161).
Two counties, McDowell and Mercer, are now gold, the middle level in terms of infection rates on the County Alert System map. Seven counties are green, including Jackson, Wirt and Tyler, the lowest level in the alert system. Wood, Wetzel, Pleasants, Ritchie, Doddridge, Gilmer, Calhoun and Roane are yellow, second lowest.
No counties are red or orange, the highest levels of spread.
A county's color coding is based on the lower of either the infection rate or the percent positivity. Wood County's percent positivity is in the gold range. In Ritchie County, the percent positivity is in the red, the highest alert level.
DHHR reported 325 patients are in the hospital with COVID-19 complications, 159 of whom are unvaccinated. The patient COVID census was 299 on Thursday.
Forty-four people are in an intensive care unit, 24 unvaccinated, and 13 are on ventilators, one unvaccinated.
Vaccinated is defined as receiving the initial one or two doses, depending on the type of vaccine, but does not take into account recommended booster doses.
Twelve pediatric patients were reported, with four in an ICU.
All Mid-Ohio Valley counties in West Virginia have a "high" designation for their COVID community level, as determined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency recommends masks be worn in indoor public settings due to the prevalence of the virus.
The rankings, updated each Thursday, are based on the number of new COVID cases per 100,000 people in the previous seven days and the number of new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people or percentage of inpatient beds occupied by those patients, whichever is higher.
The latest variants are the most infectious, Dr. Clay Marsh, coronavirus adviser in West Virginia, said during Friday's online briefing. The BA.5 variant has yet to reach its full potential in the United States and in West Virginia, which is always a few weeks behind the rest of the country, he said.
This is the best time to get vaccinated and up-to-date on boosters, Marsh said. People fully vaccinated and boosted have a substantial reduced risk of dying or going to the hospital, he said.
"We can anticipate BA.5 will come and have its full strength felt in West Virginia in the next several weeks," Marsh said.
West Virginia will begin ordering Novavax, the latest COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, James Hoyer, director of the interagency task force on vaccines, said.
Novavax is the fourth vaccine available against the virus and was developed with a different technology than the three developed by Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson.
"So we'll start to see that for those who would wish to choose that," Hoyer said.
The Division of Corrections reported 62 staff and 137 inmates with the virus. Twenty infected inmates are at the North Central Regional Jail.
The death toll since the start of the pandemic remained at 7,121 on Friday.
Statistics for long-term care facilities are updated on Fridays. The department reported 301 staff and 348 residents with the virus. Three cases are at Mountain View Care Center and 16 at Ravenswood Village in Jackson County. Six cases are at Stonerise Belmont in Pleasants County. One is at Miletree Center in Roane County. Thirteen are at the New Martinsville Center in Wetzel County. Five are at Ohio Valley Health Care, two are in the Parkersburg Center and one at the Willows in Wood County.