Upshur County reports 19 new COVID cases Wednesday, now has highest infection rate in West Virginia

Brian Bergstrom
October 7, 2020

Upshur County saw another surge of new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources announcing that 19 new cases have been identified locally.

The record daily increase means Upshur County now has the highest rate of infection rate in the state, surpassing both Barbour and Tucker counties.

Despite the rise in new cases, Upshur technically ranks as orange on the daily alert map due to the percent positivity metric, which has fallen after the free testing rounds offered at Buckhannon-Upshur High School on Friday, Monday and Tuesday. And because of the way the state calculates the positivity metric, 11 of the new cases reported in the last two days are not counted toward the map color.

Seventy-three cases are currently active in Upshur County, according to the DHHR. Fourteen of the new cases reported locally in the last seven days are in the most vulnerable 70+ age group.

Statewide, West Virginia reported more than 200 cases for the second day this week as the death toll continues to rise.

The DHHR announced Wednesday that 203 new cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the Mountain State.

Five additional deaths have been attributed to the disease, according to the DHHR – a 56-year old male from Kanawha County, a 65-year old male from Kanawha County, a 67-year old male from Wyoming County, a 72-year old female from Harrison County, and an 81 year old male from Fayette County.

“The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports as of 10 a.m., October 7, 2020, there have been 602,802 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 17,139 total cases and 369 deaths,” according to a press release.

New cases were reported Wednesday in Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mineral, Mingo, Monongalia, Morgan, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Roane, Taylor, Upshur, Wetzel and Wood counties.

About 4,327 West Virginia cases remain active, according DHHR data. Of the cases that are no longer active, 12,443 people have recovered and 369 have died. The daily percent positive was 3.27%.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (116), Berkeley (1148), Boone (262), Braxton (16), Brooke (124), Cabell (930), Calhoun (28), Clay (43), Doddridge (36), Fayette (664), Gilmer (49), Grant (163), Greenbrier (138), Hampshire (112), Hancock (160), Hardy (95), Harrison (473), Jackson (298), Jefferson (463), Kanawha (2965), Lewis (42), Lincoln (191), Logan (673), Marion (311), Marshall (186), Mason (151), McDowell (96), Mercer (441), Mineral (179), Mingo (414), Monongalia (2119), Monroe (155), Morgan (67), Nicholas (129), Ohio (392), Pendleton (54), Pleasants (20), Pocahontas (60), Preston (162), Putnam (647), Raleigh (571), Randolph (281), Ritchie (13), Roane (59), Summers (59), Taylor (150), Tucker (43), Tyler (17), Upshur (146), Wayne (425), Webster (9), Wetzel (65), Wirt (12), Wood (387), Wyoming (130).