Trending
CHARLESTON -- Statewide active cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus are again nearing 1,600, according to the Friday pandemic update from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
The state reported 1,565 active cases statewide, up 74 from 1,491 on Thursday. The state also reported 510 new cases had been received since Thursday's report.
Active cases were in the 1,600 to 1,800 range at the end of December.
Active cases per county Friday (Thursday): Calhoun ,2 (2); Doddridge, 5 (2); Gilmer, 3 (2); Jackson, 20 (15); Pleasants, 3 (3); Ritchie, 17 (17); Roane, 11 (8); Tyler, 10 (9); Wetzel, 11 (11); Wirt, 1 (1); Wood, 58 (54).
Twenty of the state's 55 counties are green on the County Alert System map, the lowest level based on infection rates and percent positivity in the previous seven days.
Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Calhoun and Gilmer are green in this region. Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane and Doddridge counties are yellow, second lowest.
The designation on the map is based on the lower of the infection rate or percent positivity measurements. Five levels are based on severity from green, yellow, gold, orange and red.
In Calhoun and Gilmer counties, the infection rate is in the yellow zone. Percent positivity in Doddridge, Ritchie and Tyler counties is in the red zone, the highest.
Percent positivity in Jackson County is at the orange level. Percent positivity is gold in Roane and Wetzel counties.
The infection rate is in the yellow zone in Wirt County. Percent positivity is in the orange level in Wood County.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Community Levels ranked Doddridge, Gilmer and Tyler counties as high, where the agency recommends people wear masks in indoor, public spaces.
The levels, issued weekly on Thursday afternoons or evenings, are based on the number of new cases per 100,000 people and hospitalization statistics for the preceding seven days.
Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wetzel, Wirt and Wood counties were medium, in which the CDC recommends people at greater risk of severe illness discuss precautions like masking with a health care provider..
Another 17 deaths in West Virginia have been attributed to the virus since Thursday, raising the total of deaths from the virus to 7,721. At least 60 deaths have been reported since Dec. 30 in the state.
The department on Friday confirmed the deaths of a 93-year-old woman from Mercer County, a 78-year-old man from Pocahontas County, a 94-year-old man from Harrison County, a 75-year-old woman from Ohio County, an 81-year-old woman from Jefferson County, a 68-year-old woman from Mercer County, an 80-year-old man from Raleigh County, a 69-year-old man from Mason County, a 96-year-old man from Kanawha County, an 81-year-old man from Marion County, an 84-year-old man from Hancock County, an 87-year-old man from Fayette County, a 69-year-old woman from Kanawha County, an 82-year-old man from Morgan County, a 74-year-old man from Putnam County, an 80-year-old woman from Marion County and an 87-year-old woman from Jackson County.
"Vaccines are safe and effective," said Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben, interim DHHR cabinet secretary. "We can all do our part to end the pandemic by getting a COVID vaccine or booster today."
The state reported 317 patients with COVID-19 in the hospital with 54 in an intensive care unit and 19 on a ventilator. Seven pediatric cases were reported with four in an ICU.