All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

First confirmed COVID-19 case reported in Upshur County on Thursday

Coronavirus cells in microscopic view. Virus from Wuhan casusing pandemic around the world. 3D render

A confirmed case of COVID-19 has been diagnosed in Upshur County, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources announced Thursday night.

The Upshur County case was one of 27 new confirmed cases reported around the state Thursday. In total, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in West Virginia increased to 76.

No other details about the Upshur County confirmation were immediately available.

New cases were reported in Berkeley, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Monongalia, Raleigh, Upshur and Wood counties, according to the DHHR.

The West Virginia news came shortly after the United States surpassed China and is now reporting the highest number of coronavirus cases worldwide.

“The state breakdown of cases by county are four individuals from Berkeley County, four from Harrison County, five from Jackson County, four from Jefferson County, 15 from Kanawha County, one from Logan County, two from Marion County, three from Marshall County, one from Mason County, two from Mercer County, 24 from Monongalia County, one from Ohio County, one from Preston County, two from Putnam County, two from Raleigh County, two from Tucker County, one from Upshur County, and two from Wood County,” according to a press release from the DHHR.

The DHHR said 1,855 residents have been tested for COVID-19 as of Thursday.

“Following surveillance from several identified cases, the official case count changed for Ohio and Preston counties by one less as they were found to not be the county of residence of these individuals,” the release notes.

Meanwhile, the spread of the virus continues to grow at an exponential rate worldwide, with about 75,000 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the worldwide total to 530,000. The number of deaths is also increasing at an alarming rate, with about 3,000 new deaths in the last day. To date, more than 24,000 people have died to the disease.

Also on Thursday, the United States surpassed both Italy and China – where the virus is believed to have originated in December 2019 – in total confirmed cases. About 84,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S.

In a press conference, West Virginia governor Jim Justice appointed a COVID-19 czar and asked travelers from out-of-state to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Read more about Justice’s recent actions here.

Want to keep up-to-date with the latest local information about COVID-19? Bookmark our COVID-19 HQ page, which has the latest news, numbers, charts and more.

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