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CHARLESTON -- West Virginia's active COVID-19 cases edged back up toward 1,000 in Friday's report from the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
And Roane County was classified as high on the CDC's COVID Community Level metric, meaning the agency recommends masking in indoor, public spaces. But Roane General Hospital CEO Doug Bentz said they're seeing more cases of the flu.
"We've actually seen a downward trend in the COVID numbers," he said.
The county's active cases rose from 16 to 22 in Friday's report, but Bentz said he was aware of just one patient at Roane General with COVID on Friday and that wasn't the sole factor.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data is updated on Thursday afternoons based on new cases per 100,000 people and hospitalization statistics for the last seven days. Roane County had 28 new cases in that period, for a rate of 204.56, which puts a county at at least a medium level.
What moved it to high was a rate of 14.4 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people. But that amounts to just two new admissions of COVID-positive residents, according to the CDC statistics. It was not immediately clear if that applied to county residents admitted to facilities other than Roane General.
All other Mid-Ohio Valley counties were classified as medium, in which the CDC recommends people at greater risk for serious illness consult with a health care provider about precautions like masking.
Bentz said Roane General is busy but not full. The issue remains finding bed space for patients who need a higher level of care, such as an intensive care unit, at a larger facility.
"We had a patient that was in our (emergency room) for five days," he said. "The emergency room's the closest thing that operates as an ICU in our hospital."
Statewide, COVID hospitalizations totaled 190, with 22 in ICUS and six on ventilators. On Thursday, there were 165 hospitalizations, 18 in ICUs and eight on ventilators.
DHHR listed six pediatric hospitalizations with one in an ICU Friday. On Thursday, there were two pediatric patients, one in ICU.
The state reported 290 new cases since Thursday's update. The total was 978, up from 879 Thursday.
Active cases in other local counties Friday (Thursday) were: Calhoun, 2 (4); Doddridge, 1 (2); Gilmer, 3 (2); Jackson, 15 (17); Pleasants, 4 (4); Ritchie, 6 (7); Tyler, 7 (7); Wetzel, 10 (4); Wirt, 1 (1); Wood, 42 (36).
Sixteen counties were yellow, the second-lowest level on the five-tiered scale of the County Alert System map that measures the spread of COVID based on new cases per 100,000 people and percentage of positive tests, whichever is lower, in the previous seven days. Among them were Roane, Pleasants and Wetzel counties.
The remaining 39 counties were green, the lowest level.
The DHHR attributed two additional deaths to COVID-19, a 74-year-old man from Mingo County and an 89-year-old woman from Marshall County. The state's total COVID-19 deaths stands at 7,638.
"Each loss is a heartbreak to a family and to our state," DHHR Cabinet Secretary Bill J. Crouch said. "I urge West Virginians to take action for their safety and the safety of others by receiving a COVID-19 vaccine or booster."
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.