COVID death toll in WV hits 7,000

As the COVID death toll topped 7,000 in West Virginia Monday, cautions were issued about other, more infectious, variants on their way.

“This is a milestone that none of us wanted to hit,” Gov. Jim Justice said during his pandemic briefing Monday. “It’s just hard to fathom. You think of all the tough things we’ve seen on the news over the years, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to this.”

Although the number of deaths reported associated with COVID has been dropping, new cases keep coming in and hospitalizations hit 217 Monday, well above the recent low of 77 reported in late April.

Justice said 1,306 new positive cases were reported Monday in a 24-hour period.

Retired Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, director of the Joint Interagency Task Force, said new hospitalizations are a concern, not only because they reflect rising cases but they are also getting closer to the 500 mark, which would be “a really challenging number in West Virginia.”

That is because, he said, with staffing shortages and the usual increase in hospitalizations for various illnesses expected during the summer months, 500 would put the state in a precarious position in how many can be handled.

“Our metrics are much more different now,” he said of the 800 number used before, mainly because of staffing shortages.

At its peak in January, more than 1,000 COVID patients were reported in state hospitals, pushing hospitals well beyond capacity as beds were scare and patients had to be moved around the state and often were in an ER bed until something else became available.

Since then, more medical personnel have retired or moved.

“We will continue to monitor that,” Hoyer said of the number of COVID patients.

Dr. Clay Marsh, state COVID-19 Czar, said over 1 million COVID deaths have been recorded around the country since the pandemic started and the virus just won’t go away.

“The most infectious forms are now present,” he said of the Omicron variants that mutate and grow more contagious.

New variants like BA2.12.4 and BA2.12.5 are in the United States but have not been detected in West Virginia yet.

“The newest variants are not only more infectious but they also replicate better … in the lungs,” he said, adding that a 20 percent increase in hospitalizations is being seen around the country.

The key to help stay out of the hospital and prevent severe symptoms remains vaccinations and boosters, he added.

Being up to date on vaccines is “absolutely the best protection you can have against these variants,” he said.

Hoyer also said preparations are under way to be ready when a vaccine for children under 5 receives final approval.

“I would say we are already ready,” he said, with logistics in place to handle the vaccine when it comes.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com