CHARLESTON — During Tuesday’s briefing, Gov. Justice yet again pleaded with West Virginians who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 to do so, noting that cases of the dangerous Delta variant continue to rise across the state.

There are now 17 confirmed Delta variant cases spread across eight West Virginia counties, up more than 41% from 12 cases last week.

“This Delta variant is coming to West Virginia in a bigger way than it is today,” Gov. Justice said. “I hope and pray that it doesn’t come to West Virginia and run across our state like wild, but the odds are it will. It’s moving across our nation. In some places, hospitals are scrambling around trying to find additional respirators. It sounds awfully familiar to the horror stories that we went through over the last year and saw all over the place.

“We know this variant is more contagious and more deadly, but we know that the vaccines are still great at protecting us against this variant,” Gov. Justice continued. “We are continuing to watch the situation. But, like it or not it, it’s coming to West Virginia and you need to be protected.”