West Virginia COVID figures grim
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CHARLESTON -- As West Virginia paused Monday to remember the lives lost during the 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, state officials noted the sacrifices made over the last several months in the fight against COVID-19.
"War can be really rough stuff," Gov. Jim Justice said. "We're not going to forget all of those we lost at Pearl Harbor and all of those who dedicated their lives. Many have paid the ultimate sacrifice."
According to the U.S. Census, 2,403 military personnel and civilians died on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Empire of Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Yard at Hawaii's Pearl Harbor. In the fight against COVID-19, that's just barely 1 percent of the total deaths since the start of the pandemic.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the state reported 841 total COVID-19 deaths as of Monday -- more than one-third of the total deaths at Pearl Harbor. There were 160 deaths reported between Nov. 23 and Sunday -- a 10 percent increase over the 176 deaths reported the previous 14 days. Saturday was the deadliest day for the state with 30 deaths reported.
"You've done amazingly good, but the number of deaths is escalating now with leaps and bounds," Justice said after reading off death totals from West Virginia's surrounding states. "It's doing it all across this country, but it's surely doing it in West Virginia."
The number of positive cases over the same 14-day period was 15,095, which was a 22 percent increase compared to 12,365 cases during the prior 14-day period. As of Monday -- the most recent data available -- the state reported 1,131 new cases received in a 24-hour period compared to Sunday's data. The state averaged 1,197 cases per day over a seven-day period.
Active COVID-19 cases -- the number of infected people in self-quarantine or hospitalized -- was 19,691 cases as of Monday -- a 17 percent increase from 16,787 active cases seven days ago and a 44 percent increase from 13,678 active cases 14 days ago. All 55 counties have active cases for the seventh week in a row. Active cases have increased in 45 out of 55 counties, down from 46 counties last week.
As of Monday, 14 out of 55 counties were in the red on the DHHR County Alert System map for either the rate of infection or the percent of positivity in the county -- more than one quarter of the state's counties. Red counties were Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Wood, Wirt, Mason, Wayne, Mingo, Boone, Wyoming, Grant, Mineral, Hampshire, and Berkeley counties.
The total number of test results between Nov. 23 and Dec. 6 was 193,219 -- an 8 percent increase in testing compared to 179,487 tests results between Nov. 9. through Nov. 22. Over the last seven days, the state conducted an average of 13,694 tests per day.
"The testing is really, really helping us, but it's not enough," Justice said.
Justice said he was still not prepared to order a statewide shutdown of non-essential businesses or institute another stay-at-home order. Justice said that information from contact tracing of COVID-19 cases have not pinpointed specific businesses as culprits in spreading the virus.
"We're getting an onslaught from every direction known to man," Justice said. "Other than a wholesale shutdown … we can't show that anything we do is going to make any substantial difference other than wearing a mask."
There were 610 hospitalizations as of Monday, up from 597 hospitalizations the previous week -- a 2 percent increase. The average number of hospitalizations between Nov. 23 and Sunday increased by 54 percent over the average number of hospitalizations the previous 14 days. The number of infected people in intensive care units was 176 -- up from 162 last week -- and 83 people are on ventilators -- up from 76 people last week, though ventilator use peaked Friday at 92.
West Virginia's Rt number -- the rate that shows how quickly the virus is spreading in the community -- was 1.04 as of Monday, a slight drop from 1.03 last week but still below the 1.09 rate two weeks ago. The state's Rt number was the 15th best rate in the nation, up from 20th best rate last week with seven states in the green for having Rt values lower than 1. Any Rt value below 1 means the growth of the virus is slowing, while numbers above 1 mean the virus is spreading.
West Virginia's daily percent of positive cases was 7.24 percent, and the cumulative percent of positive cases continues to increase, sitting at 3.88 percent.
(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)
