So, how is West Virginia doing in the fight against Covid-19 compared with our surrounding states?
Kentucky is witnessing a significant surge. There were 979 new positive cases Sunday, the most of any day since the pandemic began. Governor Andy Beshear called the increase “a wake-up call for everybody.”
The surge prompted a warning from West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. “We’re absolutely worried about this thing migrating from the south,” he said. “It’s alarming.”
There have been at least 23,600 cases in Kentucky and 691 people have died.
Maryland had a major surge from mid-April to mid-May. At one point, the positive rate per test had risen to nearly 27 percent. After that, the curve headed downward, but is inching back up and is now at about 11 percent.
Of the four counties closest to West Virginia, Fredrick County has had the most cases with over 2,700. The number of positive cases increases significantly as you get closer to Washington and Baltimore. Garrett County, which is at the western tip of Maryland and borders Preston County, West Virginia, has had just 34 cases.
Virginia is following a similar trend as Maryland. The Commonwealth had a peak in mid-May with a rolling seven day average of about 1,000 cases per day. The daily number trended downward, but then started rising again after the July 4th holiday.
Loudoun County is just across the mountain from West Virginia’s eastern panhandle and it has been hard hit by the virus, with nearly 4,700 positive cases. Also, like Maryland, the cases increase as you get closer to metropolitan areas.
The West Virginia DHHR Dashboard reports Pennsylvania’s percent positive at ten percent. The Keystone State had a peak in early April with a seven day rolling average of over 1,700 cases.
The number of cases then dropped steadily, but there has been an uptick since late June. The seven day average is now just under 800 cases. Over 7,000 Pennsylvanians have died from the virus.
Next door in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine is warning that his state “could become the next Florida.” The state is headed in the wrong direction. The state saw a peak in late April followed by a flattening of the curve. However, the number of cases has been trending upward since mid-June.
Ohio’s seven day rolling average is now above 1,300, easily the highest since the pandemic began. DeWine said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that the increase can be attributed to people not wearing masks, gathering in bars, churches and casual get-togethers.”
And finally, West Virginia is doing better than any of the surrounding states on testing. As of yesterday, West Virginia had tested over 12-percent of the population, just slightly above Maryland at 11.4 percent.