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West Virginia officials attribute 12 deaths to COVID

CHARLESTON — Active COVID-19 cases climbed above 700 and a dozen deaths were attributed to the virus in Thursday’s update from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

A 79-year-old Wetzel County woman was among the fatalities, which ranged in age from a 67-year-old Cabell County man to a 94-year-old man from Kanawha County.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the families who are grieving the loss of a loved one today,” DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. “Vaccines and boosters are our best defense and help prevent further tragedies due to COVID-19.”

In West Virginia, 7,569 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Active cases across the state were 741, up from 689 on Wednesday.

Active cases in local counties on Thursday (Wednesday) were: Calhoun, 2 (2); Doddridge, 2 (2); Gilmer, 5 (3); Jackson, 6 (5); Pleasants, 4 (6); Ritchie, 6 (6); Roane, 7 (5); Tyler, 2 (3); Wetzel, 6 (9); Wirt, 1 (1); Wood, 33 (28).

Seven of West Virginia’s 55 counties were yellow on the County Alert System map, the second-lowest of five categories based on the rate of new cases per 100,000 people or percentage of tests coming back positive in the previous seven days, whichever is lower. The rest were green, the lowest level.

Locally, Pleasants and Ritchie counties were yellow.

There were 135 people hospitalized with COVID in West Virginia Thursday, down from 146 on Wednesday. Of those, 25 were in intensive care units and seven were on ventilators. There were 24 patients in an ICU and six on ventilators Wednesday.

Five pediatric hospitalizations were confirmed, with one on a ventilator. There were four pediatrict patients the previous day, none on a ventilator.

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