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CHARLESTON -- Active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia have pushed back to near 1,000, according to the latest update from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
There were 394 new cases received since the previous update on Wednesday, bringing the total to 971 on Thursday morning. At the start of the week on Monday, there were 624.
Active cases in local counties Thursday (Wednesday) were: Calhoun, 2 (4); Doddridge, 6 (5); Gilmer, 7 (7); Jackson, 17 (12); Pleasants, 3 (3); Ritchie, 4 (1); Roane, 7 (5); Tyler, 5 (8); Wetzel, 15 (13); and Wirt, 2 (2); Wood, 44 (34).
Dr. Clay Marsh, the state's coronavirus czar, said Wednesday that increasing hospitalization rates could likely be attributed to the presence of new COVID variants.
Hospitalizations with COVID on Thursday stood at 161, a decline from Wednesday's total of 169. There were 28 patients in intensive care units and eight on ventilators Thursday, compared to 23 and eight on Wednesday.
Pediatric hospitalizations decreased from 10 to seven, but unlike Wednesday, when none were in intensive care or on ventilators, there were three in ICUs and one on a ventilator.
Seven additional deaths were attributed to COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the state's pandemic total to 7,618.
Among the deaths announced was a 77-year-old Wood County man. Three Kanawha County residents, women age 61 and 62 and an 86-year-old man, and two Braxton County men, ages 80 and 85, were included, along with an 85-year-old man from Brooke County.
"We send our condolences to these families who are grieving the loss of a loved one," DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "As we enter the holiday season, please schedule your COVID vaccine or booster to protect yourself and those you plan to celebrate with."
Although vaccination cannot guarantee a person will not get infected, it offers protection against severe illness and death, officials said.
Sixteen of West Virginia's 55 counties were yellow, the second-lowest color on the County Alert System map, which classifies counties in one of five colors based on the lower measure of new cases per 100,000 people or percentage of positive tests in the previous seven days. Locally, that included Doddridge, GIlmer, Tyler and Wetzel counties.
The remaining counties were green, the lowest level.