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CHARLESTON -- The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in West Virginia decreased for the second consecutive day.
There were 319 patients with the virus Friday, according to the morning update from the state Department of Health and Human Resources, down from 327 Thursday and 332 Wednesday.
State officials have said the capacity for COVID patients is about 500. That's lower than the 800-patient threshold during the prior surges attributed to the delta and omicron variants, due to staffing and other issues.
Of the 319 hospitalized COVID patients, 167 are unvaccinated, while 152 are considered vaccinated, meaning they have received both initial doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single Johnson and Johnson injection. It does not take into account recommended booster doses aimed at reducing immunity that has waned over time.
There were 49 patients in intensive care units Friday, two less than on Thursday. Of those, 27 were considered unvaccinated. Fourteen patients were on ventilators, one more than Thursday, eight unvaccinated.
There were six pediatric patients, with three in ICUs, for the third day in a row.
DHHR announced six additional deaths attributed to the virus, including a 66-year-old Gilmer County woman.
"As we continue the fight against this pandemic, we are saddened by the loss of more West Virginians," DHHR Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "We offer our sincere condolences to these families."
Active cases around the state totaled 3,531, a slight increase from Thursday's 3,351.
In the Mid-Ohio Valley, the numbers on Friday (Thursday) were: Calhoun, 11 (8); Doddridge, 8 (7); Gilmer, 9 (8); Jackson, 31 (29); Pleasants, 16 (14); Ritchie, 19 (14); Roane, 32 (31); Tyler, 13 (14); Wetzel, 16 (15); Wirt, 7 (6); and Wood, 186 (177).
Jackson was the only area county with the green designation on the County Alert System map.
Green is the lowest of the map's five color-coded categories based on the number of new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days or percentage of positive tests in that period, whichever is lower. There were seven green counties and three in the middle tier, gold (Nicholas, Raleigh and Wyoming). The rest were yellow, second lowest.
On the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly COVID Community Levels, released each Thursday, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer and Wirt counties moved to "medium." That's the middle category, in which the agency recommends people at risk of more serious effects from the virus discuss whether to mask with their health care provider. The rest of the area counties remained on "high," under which masks are recommended in indoor public spaces.