Staff Report

CHARLESTON — Active cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus again dropped in West Virginia, the state Department of Health and Human Resources reported on Tuesday.

Cases declined from 2,891 on Monday morning to 2,754 on Tuesday morning, according to the Tuesday morning pandemic update from the department. Also reported were 772 new cases received in the 24-hour period between the Monday and Tuesday reports.

Active cases were less than 300 in April before the influx of the BA.5 variant. Cases were over 3,000 in mid-July.

Active cases in local counties Tuesday (Monday) were: Calhoun 4 (4), Doddridge 12 (11), Gilmer 7 (7), Jackson 24 (23), Pleasants 5 (6), Ritchie 14 (18), Roane 24 (28), Tyler 9 (8), Wetzel 11 (20), Wirt 8 (6), Wood 139 (161).

Eleven counties are green, the lowest level of infection rates on the County Alert System map. All other counties are yellow, second lowest. Locally, Wetzel, Pleasants, Jackson, Calhoun and Gilmer are green.

No deaths were reported in the 24-hour period between Monday and Tuesday mornings. The COVID-19 death toll remains at 7,206 since the pandemic started more than 30 months ago.

Hospitalizations rose by seven to 340 on Tuesday, 168 of those unvaccinated. Forty-six patients are in an intensive care unit, 26 unvaccinated, and 16 are on a ventilator, 8 unvaccinated.

Twelve pediatric patients with three in an ICU and one on a ventilator were reported.

The Division of Corrections updated its numbers and reported 51 staff and 78 inmates with the virus. Twenty-two are in the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County, and two are in the St. Marys Correctional Center.