Justice: West Virginia's omicron cases jump to 18

“We have now jumped from three to 18 Omicron variant cases across the state,” he said. “And it will surely skyrocket before this is over.”

Meanwhile, the state’s health care system continues to be strained by hospital admissions caused by the Delta variant, said James Hoyer, who leads COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts.

“Today we hit 95 new admissions in the hospitals,” he said. “That’s up from 75 yesterday and it’s up 45 from the 19th of December. So we know we’ve got to continue to press.”

Both new antiviral treatments and monoclonal antibody treatments are currently in short supply nationally, Hoyer said.

“And they are not going to be largely available,” he said. “The antivirals have significant restrictions on who can use those, as well as the antibodies have less impact on the Omicron variant.”

There were 635 patients hospitalized statewide due to COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including 194 patients in intensive care units and 101 patients who required ventilators.

During Justice’s press conference on Dec. 9, Hoyer said state officials closely monitor the number of new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals statewide each day.

“Any time we get above 60 daily admissions of COVID patients across our hospital systems, we know that is putting our hospitals in a detrimental position,” he said.

On Tuesday morning, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reported 28 additional COVID deaths, 8,604 active cases and a daily infection rate of 14.19%.

There were 1,053 new cases reported since Monday, and the cumulative percent positivity continued to push upward to 6.43%.

The state’s total death toll is now at 5,288.

DHHR confirmed the deaths of a 63-year old male from Cabell County, a 73-year old female from Wayne County, a 53-year old male from Harrison County, an 85-year old male from Raleigh County, a 77-year old female from Raleigh County, a 52-year old male from Cabell County, a 71-year old male from Fayette County, a 62-year old male from Webster County, a 75-year old female from Berkeley County, a 61-year old male from Cabell County, and a 78-year old male from Ohio County.

Included in the total deaths reported on the dashboard as a result of the Bureau for Public Health’s continuing data reconciliation with the official death certificate are a 38-year old male from Kanawha County, an 80-year old male from Mineral County, a 68-year old male from Wetzel County, an 86-year old female from Monroe County, a 42-year old male from Logan County, a 70-year old male from Wood County, a 70-year old male from Braxton County, a 55-year old female from Mingo County, a 64-year old male from Lewis County, an 82-year old male from Greenbrier County, a 73-year old male from Mason County, a 75-year old male from Lincoln County, a 96-year old male from Mercer County, a 78-year old male from Randolph County, a 60-year old female from Fayette County, a 50-year old female from Fayette County, and a 54-year old male from Marion County. These deaths range from October through December 2021.

“The continued loss of more lives due to this pandemic weighs heavily on all of us, with the greatest sadness borne by family and friends,” said DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch. “Please protect one another by getting vaccinated today.”