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Three more Upshur County residents die from COVID-19

Brian Bergstrom
January 28, 2021

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources announced Thursday that three more Upshur County residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the county’s death toll to 23.

The new deaths — a 59-year old female, a 70-year old female and an 82-year old male — were among 30 reported statewide Thursday.

A total of 787 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Mountain State, the DHHR added.

Locally, new cases were reported in Upshur (11), Barbour (10), Lewis (11), Randolph (18) and Webster (3) counties. A total of 207 cases are currently active in Upshur County, according to the DHHR.

The Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department has also corrected a mathematical error that led to a discrepancy in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported by the county and the state.

Health department nurse Ashley Gordon said she had traced the case totals back to the beginning of January and found the error that resulted in the county reporting more cases than the state.

“I’ve been working with Sarah Sanders (an epidemiologist with the W.Va. DHHR) for over a week now,” Gordon told My Buckhannon Wednesday. “The number was transcribed wrong, so I had to go back to the beginning of January and check the math, and that’s when I figured out where the mistake was.”

Gordon said the health department has been contracting cases out to a company working with the West Virginia Army National Guard, Maximus, which has been assisting in contact tracing.

“I checked with Maximus, too, and everything is now in line, and I feel a lot better about it,” Gordon said.

Gordon is a full-time registered nurse with the health department.

The 30 new deaths reported Thursday include:

a 70-year old female from Jefferson County,
a 59-year old female from McDowell County,
a 92-year old female from Hancock County,
a 66-year old male from Monongalia County,
a 70-year old male from Mercer County,
a 74-year old male from Hampshire County,
a 74-year old female from Ohio County,
an 82-year old male from Upshur County,
a 74-year old male from Berkeley County,
a 73-year old male from Harrison County,
a 68-year old male from Raleigh County,
a 53-year old female from Marshall County,
an 89-year old female from Mercer County,
a 91-year old female from Harrison County,
a 60-year old male from Hancock County,
a 65-year old male from Cabell County,
a 66-year old male from Wood County,
a 92-year old female from Mercer County,
a 57-year old female from Preston County,
a 59-year old female from Upshur County,
an 84-year old female from Marshall County,
a 93-year old female from Hancock County,
a 70-year old female from Upshur County,
an 83-year old female from Cabell County,
a 78-year old male from Harrison County,
a 69-year old female from Putnam County,
a 78-year old male from Ohio County,
a 79-year old male from Ohio County,
an 83-year old female from Mason County,
a 72-year old female from Fayette County.

“The continued loss of West Virginians weighs heavily on all of us, with the greatest sadness borne by family and friends,” said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary, in a press release. “During this difficult time for our state and nation, we extend our deepest sympathy.”

About 23,140 West Virginia cases remain active, according DHHR data. Of the cases that are no longer active, 93,439 people have recovered and 1,983 have died. The daily percent positive was 4.82%.

“The West Virginia DHHR reports as of January 28, 2021, there have been 1,882,860 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 118,562 total cases and 1,983 total deaths,” according to a press release.

A total of 51,741 people have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 in West Virginia, meaning they have received both doses of the vaccine, the DHHR said.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,094), Berkeley (8,762), Boone (1,411), Braxton (745), Brooke (1,884), Cabell (6,936), Calhoun (209), Clay (342), Doddridge (402), Fayette (2,341), Gilmer (562), Grant (981), Greenbrier (2,205), Hampshire (1,362), Hancock (2,451), Hardy (1,187), Harrison (4,384), Jackson (1,580), Jefferson (3,270), Kanawha (10,920), Lewis (823), Lincoln (1,118), Logan (2,349), Marion (3,255), Marshall (2,740), Mason (1,519), McDowell (1,220), Mercer (3,864), Mineral (2,455), Mingo (1,896), Monongalia (6,944), Monroe (876), Morgan (858), Nicholas (1,036), Ohio (3,334), Pendleton (545), Pleasants (764), Pocahontas (554), Preston (2,392), Putnam (3,778), Raleigh (4,038), Randolph (2,173), Ritchie (553), Roane (460), Summers (659), Taylor (996), Tucker (449), Tyler (563), Upshur (1,462), Wayne (2,318), Webster (245), Wetzel (987), Wirt (325), Wood (6,442), Wyoming (1,544).