CHARLESTON — West Virginia ended 2020 with COVID-19 cases and deaths substantially increasing as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve.

According to numbers from the Department of Health and Human Resources, December saw 39,279 COVID-19 cases in the state for an increase over the previous month of 78 percent. COVID-19 deaths jumped from 278 in November to 603 in December for a 117 percent increase.

While COVID-19 testing numbers also increased, they did not explain the number of cases and deaths, which have skyrocketed over the last two months. The state received 378,627 test results in December, a 7 percent increase over 354,963 tests in November.

Total test results between Dec. 21 and Sunday was 153,596, a 10 percent decrease in testing compared to 169,977 test results between Dec. 7. through Dec. 20. Over the last seven days, the state conducted an average of 13,193 tests per day, up from 8,750 tests per day the previous week.

The number of positive cases over the same 14-day period was 18,265, which was a 5 percent increase compared to 17,356 cases during the prior 14-day period.

As of Monday, the most recent data available, the state reported 828 new cases received in a 24-hour period compared to Sunday’s data. The state averaged 1,475 cases per day over a seven-day period, up from 1,132 cases the previous seven days.

Active COVID-19 cases, the number of infected people in self-quarantine or hospitalized, was 27,362 cases as of Monday, an 11 percent increase from 24,723 active cases seven days ago and a 20 percent increase from 22,877 active cases 14 days ago. All 55 counties have active cases for the 11th week in a row. Active cases have increased in 46 out of 55 counties, up from 37 counties last week.

On the County Alert System map, 43 of the 55 counties were red due to either higher infection rates or percent positivity, with 11 counties listed as orange, the next worst color rating. Only Calhoun County was gold.

The state reported 1,396 COVID-19 deaths as of Monday. There were 248 deaths reported between Dec. 21 and Sunday, a 15 percent decrease from the 290 deaths reported the previous 14 days. Over a seven-day period, the state saw an average of 19 deaths per day.

There were 799 hospitalizations as of Monday, up from 720 hospitalizations the previous week, an 11 percent increase.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the percent of inpatient hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients was 15.22 percent as of Dec. 29, up from 14.88 percent as of Dec. 15. Out of an estimated 782 ICU beds in the state, 558 beds, or 82.73 percent of the state’s ICU capacity is being used.

West Virginia’s Rt number, the rate that shows how quickly the virus is spreading in the community, was 1.02 as of Monday, down from 1.13 last week. The state’s Rt number moved to the 13th best rate in the nation after being second worst last week. Any Rt value below 1 means the growth of the virus is slowing, while numbers above 1 mean the virus is spreading.

(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)