LATEST: MORE COUNTIES GO RED - Highest Number Of Hospitalizations Yet

(09/19/2020)
There are now four counties with a ‘red’ designation on the state’s COVID-19 alert map.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources added Putnam, Fayette and Mingo counties to red Friday, joining Kanawha County which went red earlier this week.

Mon County was dropped from red this week after large numbers of students quarantined in college dorms would be counted as one case.

Putnam, Fayette and Mingo counties have shown a steady increase in new cases this week. All three counties now top 25 cases for their rolling 7-day average per 100,000 population.

Red shuts down any and all extra-curricular activities involving schools along with other restrictions.

West Virginia is nearing 300 pandemic related deaths. Three deaths were added Friday taking the overall number to 297. The DHHR confirmed the deaths of an 83-year old male from Mingo County, an 87-year old female from Mason County, and a 62-year old male from Logan County.

There have been 25 deaths in the past week.

There are 253 new COVID-19 cases statewide in the past 24 hours.The daily positive test rate is nearly 5%.

Hospitalizations were listed Friday at 175 statewide, the highest since the pandemic began. Sixty-three of the patients are being cared for in intensive care and 40 of them are ventilators.

Kanawha County is requesting two field hospitals to separate COVID-19 patients.

Three COVID-19 deaths and 77 new cases reported in Kanawha County.

More than 70 students, five staff members have been quarantined in Boone County.

Confirmed cases per county include:

Barbour (42), Berkeley (929), Boone (191), Braxton (10), Brooke (106), Cabell (707), Calhoun (23), Clay (33), Doddridge (17), Fayette (524), Gilmer (20), Grant (150), Greenbrier (119), Hampshire (100), Hancock (140), Hardy (78), Harrison (332), Jackson (244), Jefferson (413), Kanawha (2,194), Lewis (38), Lincoln (153), Logan (559), Marion (252), Marshall (150), Mason (130), McDowell (86), Mercer (394), Mineral (161), Mingo (346), Monongalia (1,836), Monroe (146), Morgan (49), Nicholas (79), Ohio (349), Pendleton (51), Pleasants (16), Pocahontas (59), Preston (147), Putnam (471), Raleigh (470), Randolph (233), Ritchie (10), Roane (43), Summers (34), Taylor (117), Tucker (15), Tyler (15), Upshur (60), Wayne (336), Webster (7), Wetzel (49), Wirt (10), Wood (346), Wyoming (94).