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PARKERSBURG -- Roane County saw an increase of two dozen active COVID-19 cases over the holiday weekend, according to the latest data from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
The county had 35 cases as of the Friday morning update, but on Tuesday the total had risen to 59. Roane General Hospital CEO Doug Bentz said that probably doesn't reflect the actual number of infections.
"The majority of the positives aren't even being reported, just because of the number of home tests that are being done," he said.
Bentz attributed at least some of the rise to students returning to school. He said so far the hospital's resources have not been strained.
"We're not overwhelmed with COVID … inside the hospital. It's all been outpatient," he said.
The state's online COVID dashboard indicates Roane General's long-term care facility has an outbreak, but Bentz said that is because they haven't gone two weeks without a positive test among residents or staff, which is required to lift the designation. State data indicates just one active case among staff and none among residents.
Active case totals in other local counties Tuesday (Friday) were: Calhoun, 8 (15); Doddridge, 5 (10); Gilmer, 12 (17); Jackson, 21 (29); Pleasants, 11 (13); Ritchie, 12 (9); Tyler, 17 (22); Wetzel, 40 (52); Wirt, 6 (6); Wood, 117 (162).
Roane County moved to gold on the County Alert System map. That's the middle level of the five-tiered scale measuring the spread of the virus.
By percentage of positive tests over the previous seven days (15.14%), Roane qualified as red, the highest level, but the ranking is determined by the lower of that metric or the infection rate, the number of new cases per 100,000 people in the previous seven days. That number -- 60.53 -- fell in the gold category.
Doddridge, Gilmer, Pleasants, Ritchie, Tyler, Wetzel and Wood counties were all yellow, the second lowest level, while Calhoun, Jackson and Wirt counties were green, the lowest.
Statewide, two counties were gold, 37 yellow and 16 green.
Active cases dropped to 2,694 Tuesday from 3,362 Friday. Given the longer weekend, most of them --2,563 -- were newly reported.
The DHHR attributed seven additional deaths to the virus, ranging from a 76-year-old Nicholas County woman to a 96-year-old Randolph County man
"With a heavy heart, we share this solemn news of more lives lost to this pandemic," DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "We extend our sympathies to the families affected and encourage vaccination and receiving updated boosters."
During Gov. Jim Justice's online briefing Tuesday, James Hoyer, head of the state's interagency task force on vaccines, said updated omicron boosters have been approved by federal authorities and are available to anyone age 12 and older who has completed the primary vaccine series. Those who have received a booster shot are eligible if they are at least two months removed from their last shot.
Hoyer said the state is particularly emphasizing the boosters for those age 50 and older or in long-term care facilities.
The number of people hospitalized in West Virginia with COVID rose to 297, from 282 on Friday. There were 41 in intensive care units and nine on ventilators. The state also listed nine pediatric hospitalizations with COVID, four in ICUs.
The dashboard breaks down the hospitalization statistics based on whether an individual is vaccinated (having received at least the initial series) or unvaccinated, but the numbers posted on Tuesday exceeded the totals. A message seeking comment Tuesday afternoon was not immediately returned.
The site listed 191 unvaccinated and 168 vaccinated (total 359) among the hospitalizations, 28 unvaccinated and 24 vaccinated (52) in ICUs and nine vaccinated and five unvaccinated (14) on ventilators.