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West Virginia shatters daily record with 2,486 new COVID-19 cases Friday

Brian Bergstrom
January 1, 2021

West Virginia starts the new year with a record number of COVID-19 cases active across the state, the Department of Health and Human Resources announced Friday.

The DHHR reported 2,486 new cases of COVID-19 in the Mountain State Friday, a record single-day increase. The biggest single day increase previously was 1,636 cases on Dec. 17.

Locally, new cases were reported in Upshur (42), Barbour (25), Lewis (32), Randolph (67) and Webster (6) counties.

A total of 207 cases are currently active in Upshur County, according to the DHHR.

Friday’s Upshur County update:

Added 21 probable and 23 confirmed cases on Dec. 31
Removed four probable cases and added three confirmed cases to Dec. 30
Removed four probable cases and added five confirmed cases to Dec. 29
Removed one confirmed case from Dec. 28

More than 800 West Virginians will spend New Year’s Day in the hospital battling COVID-19, the DHHR said, including more than 100 on ventilators.

Twenty-three additional deaths have been attributed to the disease, according to the DHHR:

an 87-year old female from Marion County,
an 81-year old female from Mineral County,
an 85-year old female from Boone County,
a 78-year old male from Hampshire County,
a 79-year old male from Kanawha County,
an 83-year old female from Mineral County,
an 82-year old male from Mineral County,
a 48-year old male from Preston County,
a 77-year old male from Hampshire County,
an 82-year old female from Logan County,
a 75-year old female from Mineral County,
a 92-year old female from Kanawha County,
a 72-year old male from Summers County,
a 68-year old female from Wood County,
an 84-year old female from Hancock County,
a 56-year old male from Hampshire County,
a 59-year old male from Wood County,
an 82-year old male from Wayne County,
an 81-year old male from Brooke County,
a 77-year old female from Kanawha County,
a 72-year old male from Wayne County,
a 64-year old female from Kanawha County,
an 86-year old female from Hardy County.

“The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports as of January 1, 2021, there have been 1,518,917 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 87,820 total cases and 1,361 deaths,” according to a press release.

About 26,143 West Virginia cases remain active, according DHHR data. Of the cases that are no longer active, 60,316 people have recovered and 1,361 have died. The daily percent positive was 7.98%.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (792), Berkeley (6,391), Boone (1,087), Braxton (309), Brooke (1,427), Cabell (5,373), Calhoun (135), Clay (263), Doddridge (257), Fayette (1,784), Gilmer (413), Grant (776), Greenbrier (1,521), Hampshire (1,015), Hancock (1,922), Hardy (799), Harrison (3,042), Jackson (1,191), Jefferson (2,423), Kanawha (8,766), Lewis (557), Lincoln (784), Logan (1,693), Marion (1,909), Marshall (2,139), Mason (1,059), McDowell (992), Mercer (2,885), Mineral (2,122), Mingo (1,458), Monongalia (5,427), Monroe (662), Morgan (657), Nicholas (707), Ohio (2,543), Pendleton (313), Pleasants (574), Pocahontas (360), Preston (1,691), Putnam (3,041), Raleigh (2,761), Randolph (1,205), Ritchie (358), Roane (312), Summers (460), Taylor (702), Tucker (338), Tyler (373), Upshur (964), Wayne (1,742), Webster (156), Wetzel (716), Wirt (229), Wood (5,038), Wyoming (1,207).