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CHARLESTON -- Active cases again declined, though hospitalizations remained steady in the latest COVID-19 update from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
After tallying just over 3,000 on Friday, active cases dropped to 2,706 Monday and 2,632 Tuesday. Active cases in local counties Tuesday (Monday) were: Calhoun, 6 (5); Doddridge, 5 (4); Gilmer, 12 (13); Jackson, 13 (17); Pleasants, 0 (1); Ritchie, 13 (15); Roane, 16 (14); Tyler, 5 (6); Wetzel, 21 (18); Wirt, 16 (17); and Wood, 124 (124).
Hospitalizations remained at 340, with 202 patients unvaccinated and 175 vaccinated. A DHHR spokeswoman said the vaccination status of the other three individuals was not known.
James Hoyer, director of the state's interagency task force on vaccines, said a recent tabletop exercise completed by officials confirmed 500 as the number of hospitalizations, statewide, at which resources would begin to be impacted. That's based on seasonal conditions, staffing issues and other factors.
Forty-eight patients with COVID were in intensive care units, with the vaccination breakdown listed as 29 vaccinated and 24 unvaccinated. The status was unknown for the other five. There were 16 on ventilators, nine vaccinated and seven unvaccinated.
Nine pediatric COVID hospitalizations were reported, with three in ICU and one on a ventilator.
The state announced Monday that a 13-year-old girl's death had been attributed to COVID, the youngest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Two more deaths were announced Tuesday -- a 60-year-old Kanawha County man and a 74-year-old Greenbrier County man -- bringing the total to 7,253.
"As a grandfather, I am particularly sensitive to the grief children are suffering from the loss of a grandparent or beloved neighbor," DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "I extend my deepest sympathies and urge West Virginians to stay current on their COVID vaccines and boosters."
Hoyer said the state has started ordering new boosters that target omicron subvariants of COVID-19, in addition to the original strain of the virus. They still must be approved by the FDA and CDC before they can be administered.
The tabletop exercise also looked at future distribution of those boosters.
"We're going to focus on long-term care facilities, persons over the age of 65, those who are moderately or severely immuno-compromised and then also health care workers and first responders," Hoyer said.
A person must have received the initial vaccination series before being eligible for the new booster, said Dr. Ayne Amjad, state health officer and commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health.
Six Mid-Ohio Valley counties were green on Tuesday's County Alert System map -- Calhoun, Doddridge, Jackson, Pleasants, Roane and Tyler. The rest were yellow, along with a majority of the state.
Green is the lowest level of infection on the map's five, color-coded tiers, based on infection rate or percentage of positive tests over the last seven days, whichever is lower. Yellow is the second lowest.
Hardy County in the Eastern Panhandle was the only gold county, in the middle of the scale.