Trending
The state of West Virginia reached another somber milestone of the COVID-19 pandemic Friday, surpassing 2,000 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began.
The Department of Health and Human Resources reported 23 new deaths in a 24-hour period in its Friday update. West Virginia now has experienced 2,006 COVID deaths since the pandemic's start.
It took West Virginia until Dec.15 to reach 1,000 deaths. It took only until Friday to report the next 1,000.
Meanwhile, the rolling seven-day average of percent positivity has dropped throughout the state since Sunday. On that day, the percent positivity was 9.36. By Thursday, that number was cleaved by more than half to 4.66.
The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department announced 20 new positive COVID cases in its Friday night report. That brought the county's totals to 3,530 cases and 62 deaths since the pandemic began. The Marshall County Health Department had not updated its Facebook page with new numbers as of 10:45 p.m. Friday.
Wheeling Hospital announced that it would shorten its Saturday hours for its off-site COVID testing center starting today. People can get tested at the site from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturdays and still get tested from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The drive-thru center is located at the former Harmony House, next to Valley Professional Center South at the old Ohio Valley Medical Center. To reach the site, drive up 22nd Street to behind the old Valley Professional Center South, turn left at the top of the hill and follow the signs.
Those wishing to be tested must first pre-register. A convenient way to do that is to go to WheelingHospital.org and click on COVID-19 Testing - Register Here. Those unable to register online may also call the hotline at 304-221-3995.
Three of the four counties in the Northern Panhandle were orange -- Hancock, Brooke and Ohio -- on Friday's DHHR COVID alert map. Only Marshall County remained in red. In all, 15 counties were red, the map's highest-risk category, 31 were a step above in orange, five were gold, four were yellow and two were green, the safest category.
Hancock County had an infection rate of 39.67 cases per 100,000 residents and a percent positivity of 7.94. Brooke County had an infection rate of 40.37 cases per 100,000 residents and a percent positivity of 7.28.
Ohio County had an infection rate of 52.09 cases per 100,000 residents and a percent positivity of 6.95. Marshall County had an infection rate of 63.17 cases per 100,000 residents and a percent positivity of 10.35.