Postivie Covid test rates remained high across the Mountain State

J. Damon Cain, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·3 min read

Jan. 27—A stubborn trend of growing Covid hospitalizations persisted while active cases were in a slow decline and positive test rates remained high across the state in the morning report Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR).

The state agency counted 23 more Covid-related deaths, six from the region, in the report, pushing the statewide cumulative total to 5,697.

As the United States is seeing encouraging signs that the latest variant, Omicron, is nearing the end of its run through the population, hospitalizations in the Mountain State set a record on Wednesday with 1,080 patients in hospital care for the disease, 33 more than on Tuesday.

Trend lines charting both the number of patients in intensive care units (ICU) and on ventilators for breathing support were rising even though the ICU patient total declined from 220 to 217. The number of patients on a ventilator was up on Wednesday, from 113 to 120, and both metrics were above their markers on Thanksgiving Day, 181 and 97 respectively.

The daily positive test rate of 20.47 percent also showed a continued decline from a record 25.42 percent on Sunday.

Still, the rate has been above 20 percent in 11 of the past 12 days and above 19 percent for 18 consecutive days. The cumulative rate set another record on Thursday, up to 7.92 percent.

Across the region, the positive test rates were down in five counties (McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh, Greenbrier and Monroe) and up in four (Summers, Nicholas, Mercer and Fayette).

In all but one of the nine counties that make up The Register-Herald's primary market, active Covid cases declined from Tuesday through Wednesday, dropping from 3,877 to 3,678. That remains higher than the 3,483 cases recorded a week ago Friday.

Cases in McDowell County were up slightly, from 189 to 192, in the DHHR's Thursday report, while cases in Raleigh County, the region's most populous, dropped another 50 to 943, the most of any of the local counties.

The DHHR confirmed the deaths of a 77-year-old male from Fayette County, a 73-year-old female from Jefferson County, a 79-year-old male from Clay County, a 61-year-old female from Mason County, an 88-year-old male from Barbour County, a 65-year-old female from Wyoming County, a 64-year-old female from Raleigh County, a 60-year-old female from Logan County, a 36-year-old female from Raleigh County, an 85-year-old male from Marion County, an 88-year-old male from Preston County, a 71-year-old female from Berkeley County, an 88-year-old female from Ohio County, an 89-year-old male from Cabell County, a 92-year-old male from Logan County, a 58-year-old male from Braxton County, an 82-year-old male from Wood County, an 87-year-old female from Taylor County, an 85-year-old female from Mercer County, an 82-year-old female from Berkeley County, a 64-year-old male from Nicholas County, an 88-year-old male from Lincoln County, and a 45-year-old female from Marion County.