The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources announced Friday that 335 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Mountain State, including a net increase of one case in Upshur County.
Four additional deaths have been attributed to the disease, according to the DHHR – a 73-year old male from Putnam County, a 95-year old male from Putnam County, an 83-year old male from Putnam County, and a 95-year old female from Brooke County.
In Upshur County, the DHHR report removed two probable cases both from Oct. 20 and Oct. 21. It added one confirmed case each to Oct. 20, Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, as well as two probable cases to Oct. 22, for a net increase of one case on Friday.
A total of 45 cases remain active in Upshur County, according to the DHHR.
As new cases have slowed locally over the last week, Upshur County continues to see declines in both the infection rate (gold) and positivity rate (green). That means the West Virginia Department of Education will likely permit schools to reopen in Upshur County on Monday for the first time in four weeks.
The official school map is released each Saturday at 5 p.m. On Friday, a judge in Kanawha County will hear arguments from teachers who have filed a lawsuit challenging the map, which has been tweaked more than a dozen times since it was announced in August.
Free testing is available at Buckhannon-Upshur High School on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Statewide, the number of new cases remains high, and nationally, the United States reported a single-day record 77,000 new cases on Thursday.
“The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports as of 10 a.m., October 23, 2020, there have been 709,156 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 21,392 total cases and 422 deaths,” according to a press release.
New cases were reported Friday in Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mineral, Mingo, Monongalia, Monroe, Morgan, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood and Wyoming counties.
About 4,602 West Virginia cases remain active, according DHHR data. Of the cases that are no longer active, 16,368 people have recovered and 422 have died. The daily percent positive was 3.85%.
CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (165), Berkeley (1497), Boone (325), Braxton (56), Brooke (201), Cabell (1293), Calhoun (33), Clay (58), Doddridge (69), Fayette (745), Gilmer (64), Grant (179), Greenbrier (167), Hampshire (123), Hancock (207), Hardy (102), Harrison (632), Jackson (368), Jefferson (554), Kanawha (3459), Lewis (72), Lincoln (225), Logan (738), Marion (367), Marshall (274), Mason (170), McDowell (112), Mercer (644), Mineral (207), Mingo (546), Monongalia (2259), Monroe (223), Morgan (123), Nicholas (180), Ohio (487), Pendleton (75), Pleasants (23), Pocahontas (68), Preston (192), Putnam (827), Raleigh (712), Randolph (399), Ritchie (34), Roane (94), Summers (92), Taylor (165), Tucker (61), Tyler (30), Upshur (234), Wayne (531), Webster (25), Wetzel (134), Wirt (37), Wood (519), Wyoming (216).
