CHARLESTON, W.Va. — COVID-19 related deaths in West Virginia grew to 187 Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
The agency reported eight deaths in six counties including a 65-year-old man and a pair of 72-year-old women from Logan County, a 51-year-old woman from Cabell County, a 64-year-old from Kanawha County, a 73-year-old woman from Wyoming County, a 86-year-old woman from Taylor County and a woman, 92, from Grant County.
State Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh said many of deaths are linked to nursing homes where there’s been community spread.
“The people from these communities who work in those facilities have transferred the infection to the facilities for the second round and I think that’s why we are seeing more deaths and that is very concerning,” Marsh said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Covid-19 Czar Dr. @claymarsh speaks with @HoppyKercheval about COVID-19 updates and numbers amidst a relatively large number of deaths. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIAoe1 pic.twitter.com/AoiowWKi05
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) August 25, 2020
The state reported 83 new cases of COVID-19 in its Tuesday morning report. The state’s positive test rate is 1.72 percent. Active cases have dropped by 26 in the past day.
Improving COVID-19 numbers in Logan County has moved the county from ‘red’ to ‘orange’ on the county alert system map. Monroe County is the only other ‘orange’ county. Kanawha County remains yellow but its 7-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases has increased again going to 9.86 cases. A rolling average of 10 cases over a 7-day period will put the county in the ‘orange’ which would mean restrictions for schools and extra-curricular activities.
Marsh said nursing home residents are especially susceptible to COVID-19. But the disease does not just target them.
“We do have a group of vulnerable people but we see that COVID has many more ramifications for us. In particularly, as we turn from the most vulnerable in our nursing homes to our youth,” Marsh said.
The new school year begins statewide on Sept. 8. Most school families have chosen in-person instruction. Marsh said heading back to the school is “by far the most trickiest thing we’ve done during this pandemic.”
He said it’s guaranteed there will be increasing cases caused by school openings.
“We’re going to see that map change colors as we start to open up our K-12 and higher education places and the key for us is to continue to navigate and stay together and not be overwhelmed with fear about seeing some of these map colors change and see outbreaks in communities because we will have that,” Marsh said.
Marty Wright, CEO of the @WVHCA1, which represents more than 120 nursing homes and assisted living facilities in WV. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/EjAV2GibFq
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) August 25, 2020
The West Virginia Health Care Association represents dozens of nursing homes across the state. Executive director Marty Wright said there’s no magic answer to explain what’s happening with the nursing home outbreaks. He said there is a common denominator.
“It’s the increase in community spread plus the test lagging,” Wright said.
There are eight facilities that have had a significant outbreak.
Wright said the a-symptomatic spread of COVID-19 coupled with community spread and testing delays results in a “recipe for these outbreaks.”
Nursing homes are seeing COVID-19 cases about two week after a community spread event. Wright said the inability to get quick test results back is a big difference maker.
“If you are taking about 7 to 10 days to get test results on a possible single positive you’re missing the opportunity to identify those a-symptomatic spreaders and that’s what causing these things to blossom,” Wright said.
Tuesday’s state COVID-19 numbers show 139 people in the hospital across the state with COVID-19. Forty-six of them are in intensive care while 21 are being treated with ventilators.
.@WV_DHHR reports as of 10:00 a.m., on August 25, 2020, there have been 403,394 total confirmatory laboratory results received for #COVID19, with 9,395 total cases and 187 deaths.https://t.co/gOpP2X0d7P pic.twitter.com/2KOr7YSFQB
— WV DHHR (@WV_DHHR) August 25, 2020
Overall confirmed positive cases per county include:
Barbour (33), Berkeley (769), Boone (130), Braxton (9), Brooke (85), Cabell (493), Calhoun (8), Clay (19), Doddridge (6), Fayette (188), Gilmer (18), Grant (134), Greenbrier (98), Hampshire (92), Hancock (118), Hardy (66), Harrison (258), Jackson (192), Jefferson (328), Kanawha (1,246), Lewis (32), Lincoln (111), Logan (446), Marion (211), Marshall (134), Mason (86), McDowell (66), Mercer (276), Mineral (131), Mingo (219), Monongalia (1,059), Monroe (79), Morgan (37), Nicholas (44), Ohio (289), Pendleton (48), Pleasants (14), Pocahontas (42), Preston (136), Putnam (252), Raleigh (328), Randolph (221), Ritchie (3), Roane (25), Summers (18), Taylor (100), Tucker (11), Tyler (15), Upshur (40), Wayne (230), Webster (7), Wetzel (45), Wirt (7), Wood (292), Wyoming (51).