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PARKERSBURG -- Eight Wood County residents were among the 65 deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Wednesday by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
Four men ages 46, 55, 67 and 83 and four women ages 69, 73, 76 and 78 from the county were listed in the fatalities announced by DHHR.
Wood County's death toll since the start of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 is 220. Statewide, the total is 3,839.
"We send our condolences to these families for the loss of their loved ones," said DHHR Cabinet Secretary Bill J. Crouch. "The COVID vaccine is safe, effective and free. Please take time to schedule an appointment today."
Additional information about the deceased was not immediately available from the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department on Wednesday afternoon.
The 1,398 new cases reported over the preceding 24-hour period was slightly exceeded by the number of people going off the active rolls, in most instances moving to recovered status after 10 days. Statewide, the total for active cases was 11,331 Wednesday, compared to 11,348 the day before
Around the Mid-Ohio Valley, seven counties saw slight declines in their active case numbers. Only Doddridge County showed a large increase, going from 70 to 92.
But the Doddridge County Health Department posted on its Facebook page Tuesday that there were 28 active cases in the community, plus four at the North Central Regional Jail. On Wednesday, those numbers were 30 and two, respectively, said Heather Amos, R.N. administrator.
Amos said there are several factors that could contribute to a discrepancy between the state and local statistics. The department does not have the latest update from the jail on inmates and staff members who have tested positive, she said. In addition, some cases can be assigned to the wrong county if a resident of one county gets tested in another.
West Virginia's COVID-19 dashboard includes a section on correctional system statistics, but the most recent update under that link Wednesday afternoon was from Sept. 30.
A DHHR spokeswoman referred questions about those statistics to the Department of Homeland Security. A message was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.
Active case numbers in other local counties on Wednesday (previous day) were: Calhoun, 23 (20); Gilmer, 40 (40); Jackson, 191 (201); Pleasants, 36 (43); Ritchie, 89 (88); Roane, 136 (140); Tyler, 56 (59); Wetzel, 128 (131); Wirt, 41 (42); Wood, 633 (639).
WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center had 75 COVID patients on Wednesday, 64 of whom were not vaccinated or fully vaccinated. There were 19 COVID patients in the intensive care unit, only two of whom were vaccinated. Sixteen patients were on ventilators, only two vaccinated.
On Wednesday's County Alert System map, Wood, Doddridge, Jackson and Wetzel counties remained red, indicating the highest level of spread based on new cases per 100,000 people and percentage of positive tests, whichever is lower. Tyler County dropped to the second-highest level, orange, joining Wirt, Ritchie, Roane and Gilmer counties.
Pleasants County moved from orange to gold, the middle of the scale, while Calhoun County remained green, the lowest level. The only other green county in the state was Pendleton.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department announced another free testing event, this one scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the Amma Senior Center, 3901 Amma Road, Amma, in Roane County.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.