DHHR Reports 1,028 New COVID Cases Since Last Week's Update; State Deaths at 8,011
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on March 22, 2023 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is reporting as of this morning (Wednesday, March 22) the total number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 645,710 with an increase of 1,028 new cases since the last update which was Wednesday, March 15.
In line with the federal public health emergency set to expire, DHHR is updating the COVID-19 dashboard metrics to better reflect the current response to the pandemic. Moving forward, dashboard updates will occur weekly on Wednesdays.
With the change in frequency of the reports, the data on the dashboard has changed as well as active cases, cumulative percent positive rates and daily percent positive rates are no longer on the main page.
They have been replaced by numbers for previous week incidence rate, current week incidence rate and emergency room visits for COVID symptoms.
Today's report shows the previous week incidence rate is 34.20, while the current week incident rate is 27.12.
The emergency room visits for COVID symptoms in at 3.2 percent.
The county by county breakdowns and the daily alert map have also been removed from the dashboard.
There have been six deaths since the last report which brings the state's cumulative total to 8,011.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 97-year old male from Taylor County, a 91-year old female from Fayette County, an 87-year old female from Barbour County, a 78-year old female from Wood County, a 69-year old male from Kanawha County, and a 92-year old female from Mercer County.
Hospitalizations as of March 15 for the previous week are at 1,195 with 194 patients in ICUs and 86 on ventilators.
West Virginians ages 6 months and older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. All individuals ages 6 months and older should receive a primary series of vaccination, the initial set of shots that teaches the body to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. At this time, one Omicron booster shot (bivalent) is recommended for most people ages 6 months and older who completed the primary series, and their most recent COVID-19 shot was at least 2 months ago.
Visit the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator, a free, online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination.
To learn more about COVID-19, or to find a vaccine, visit vaccines.gov, vaccinate.wv.gov, or call 1-833-734-0965.
Visit the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator, a free, online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination.
To learn more about COVID-19, or to find a vaccine, visit vaccines.gov, vaccinate.wv.gov, or call 1-833-734-0965.
The DHHR's next update is tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 29.
