Gov. Jim Justice cautiously warned residents today that despite the Centers for Disease Control saying that the months ahead should be low as far as the rate of COVID-19 spread, that West Virginia right now does not seem to be following that trend.

 

“Anyone can look at this and see our numbers are going up. … The CDC is predicting that the next couple of months to be pretty good months, pretty slow months so we’re really looking at June and July not aggressively moving up, but it’s moving up in West Virginia.”

 

Justice pointed to the state’s color-coded map as one key indicator the state is one the rise. Currently, there are 29 counties in the green, or the lowest level of COVID concern, while there are now 26 counties yellow, which is the next lowest level. Just a few weeks ago, all 55 counties were in green.

 

The state currently is just under 2,000 active cases. There are 1,964 active COVID cases in West Virginia.

 

“It just keeps bumping up, bumping up,” said Justice of the numbers that were in the hundreds at the start of the month. Justice added that “we can live with (the virus).” As he does frequently at his briefings, he said the state’s population needs to get vaccinations and get booster shots to make that possible. If not, he said the outcome is clear.

 

“More and more people are going to die, and we could make it less and less … I don’t think this thing is going to leave,” said Justice.

 

Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s COVID-19 Czar, said the number of cases is underrepresented. He said many testing positive with at-home tests are not reporting or getting testing in facilities that report to the state and many getting sick are not testing at all. He said it is part of an ongoing surge.

 

“We do see another surge in both the United States and in West Virginia. As we look at the cause of that surge, we see it’s another form of the omicron variant of COVID-19,” said Marsh. “As we look at the impact, we see the variant is continuing to change and mutate and it allows the virus to escape our immune system more easily.”

 

Dr. Ayne Amjad, the state’s health officer, said the surge is part of the “natural progression of COVID in the country.” She added that less mask wearing, fewer individuals getting booster shots, as well as people traveling, taking advantage of spring break and recent holidays are all part of the increase.

 

As for the actual total of those who have COVID in the state, Marsh again said the numbers of those with COVID is much larger that the state’s official numbers. He pointed to what is believed to the be the case on the national level for that.

 

“Perhaps as many as one out of 10 positive cases are being documented at the national level,” said Marsh, who said the numbers are certainly much higher in the state.

 

With the current mutations, there are 39 outbreaks in the state’s long-term care facilities, while the state’s prison system is reporting 16 inmates and 18 staff members with COVID. The church front still is showing zero outbreaks across the state.

 

Justice read the ages, genders, and counties of the two deaths that have occurred since Friday’s press briefing. Both were the same age, county, and gender, but Justice said

 

“These families are hurting, and their loved ones are hurting, and I’m asking for prayers for these great, great women we lost,” said Justice.