The Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department posted an advisory Tuesday afternoon concerning a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases locally.

“We have had 15 active cases in two days,” the health department wrote on social media. “Those specimens have been sent to the state lab for variant testing.”

According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, at least three cases of the more contagious Delta variant have already been confirmed in Upshur County. It takes about a week for results on variant testing to become available, and state health officials have warned that the actual number of Delta cases could be 10 times higher than is currently being reported.

“Please be vigilant in your choice of protection, whether it be a mask, proper handwashing, using hand sanitizer, physical distancing, etc.,” the Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department wrote. “We do have the Delta variant in Upshur County. The variant testing is not a test we can have back in a short time period.”

West Virginia has one of the lowest rates of vaccination in the nation. In Upshur County, just 42% of the population over the age of 12 has been fully vaccinated, according to the DHHR. That’s well under the state average of 49%.

“We would love to have Upshur County safe for all, but at this time with the increase in cases, we can not promise that,” the health department warned. “If you are told to quarantine, do as instructed. This is for the safety of your loved ones … Do your part to help protect our county; together we can do it his, but it takes all if us and a positive attitude.”