Post-holiday COVID cases rising

Jan. 4—The number of COVID cases in West Virginia continue to rise, with almost 1,500 active cases reported Tuesday, with 327 COVID-related hospitalizations, 45 in ICUs and 16 on ventilators.

However, zero new deaths were reported.

Mercer, McDowell and Monroe counties remained in the yellow on the state's County Alert System map, with a total of 29 counties out of 55 now in the yellow.

Bonnie Allen, Mercer County Health Department Administrator, said 57 active cases were reported Tuesday with 99 new cases reported during the previous seven days.

Before the Thanksgiving holiday, those numbers had dropped into the 20s.

Allen had predicted the increases after the holidays as people gather more indoors, and that is true for the flu as well.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), the average number of new daily COVID cases per week had dropped to 135 just before Thanksgiving, and that number stood at 318 on Jan. 2.

Hospitalizations had fallen to 116 on Nov. 20, but started rising after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Reports are now surfacing that another COVID variant is spreading in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Covid-19 variant dashboard says it is XBB.1.5.

It accounts for about 41 percent of new cases now in the U.S., the CDC reports.

According to various news reports, this variant can spread as quickly, and maybe faster than BA.5, and is also is more immune evasive.

The mutations are creating concerns about a surge in cases this winter, and that is especially true considering the relatively low rates of the Omicron booster shot and relaxed precaution measures.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com