The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources said Thursday that four more state residents have died of COVID-19, increasing the total number of fatalities to 44.

“We are very sorry to report more tragic news concerning the death toll in West Virginia,” Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary, said in a press release. “Each life lost to this disease is a tragedy. We send our thoughts and sympathies to the families.”

The new deaths attributed to COVID-19 were a 74-year old male from Berkeley County, an 89-year-old man from Jackson County, and a 71-year old female and 81-year old male, both from Kanawha County.

Overall, the state confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19.

“The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports as of 5 p.m. on April 30, 2020, there have been 44,700 laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 1,125 positive, 43,575 negative and 44 deaths,” according to the press release.

Locally, Upshur County remained at four cases of COVID-19, according to the DHHR. Barbour was the only neighboring county to identify a new case Thursday, going from four cases to five.

West Virginia’s cumulative positive rate – which needs to stay below 3 percent per the governor’s reopening plan – remained well below that mark at 2.52 percent. The daily rate of positive cases was just 0.8 percent on Thursday.

The number of active cases has now dropped below 50 percent. About 47 percent of the West Virginia cases remain active, according DHHR data. Of the cases that are no longer active, 555 people have recovered and 44 have died, a mortality rate of about 7.3 percent.

Earlier in the day, Gov. Jim Justice said he plans to lift the current stay-at-home order on Monday. It will be replaced with a “safer-at-home” order as detailed in the chart below.

New cases were reported Thursday in Barbour, Berkeley, Fayette, Hancock, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Mineral and Morgan Counties.

CONFIRMED CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (5), Berkeley (145), Boone (3), Braxton (2), Brooke (3), Cabell (42), Fayette (13), Gilmer (2), Grant (1), Greenbrier (3), Hampshire (7), Hancock (10), Hardy (5), Harrison (30), Jackson (130), Jefferson (79), Kanawha (160), Lewis (4), Lincoln (2), Logan (13), Marion (45), Marshall (12), Mason (12), McDowell (6), Mercer (10), Mineral (17), Mingo (2), Monongalia (102), Monroe (5), Morgan (11), Nicholas (6), Ohio (27), Pendleton (3), Pleasants (2), Pocahontas (2), Preston (13), Putnam (25), Raleigh (8), Randolph (4), Roane (6), Summers (1), Taylor (6), Tucker (4), Tyler (3), Upshur (4), Wayne (85), Wetzel (3), Wirt (3), Wood (38), Wyoming (1).

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