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Staff Report
CHARLESTON -- Active COVID-19 cases are again below 900 in West Virginia, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources on Tuesday.
The state reported 860 statewide active cases of the virus, although health officials believe the actual number of infections may be higher because home tests are not automatically reported. The state also reported 885 new cases of the virus have been received since the last pandemic update from the department on Friday.
Cases were last under 1,000 around the end of November.
Active cases in Wood County dropped by 20, almost half, from Friday to Tuesday, from 47 cases on Friday to 27 on Tuesday. No report was issued by the department on Monday because it was a state holiday, Martin Luther King Day.
Current active cases per county (last report) Calhoun 1 (1), Doddridge 2 (1), Gilmer 0 (1), Jackson 16 (16), Pleasants 2 (1), Ritchie 2 (3), Roane 11 (10), Tyler, 5 (4) Wirt 2 (1), Wood 27 (47).
Fifteen counties across the state are yellow, second lowest, on the County Alert System Map based on infection rates and percent positivity. All other counties are green, the lowest in the five-tier rating system.
In this region, Pleasants and Wirt are the only yellow counties.
Another seven residents have died from the virus since Friday, the state said.
The state has confirmed the deaths of a 56-year-old man from Preston County, a 90-year-old woman from Monroe County, a 63-year-old woman from Fayette County, a 75-year-old man from Mason County, an 87-year-old man from Cabell County, an 82-year-old man from Berkeley County and an 81-year-old woman from Raleigh County.
"If you have symptoms, it's best to test immediately so that you can take proper action to protect others," said Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben, interim department secretary. "Together, we can continue to make strides against this virus and help save lives."
Total number of deaths since the pandemic started about three years ago was 7,785 on Tuesday.
Statewide hospitalizations dropped below 300 since Friday. The state reported 272 people are in a hospital with 35 in an intensive care unit and 10 on a ventilator. Two pediatric cases were reported with one in an ICU.