Zero deaths but a surge continues as positive test rate spikes
Jul. 13—Tuesday's report: Occasionally, after collecting and tabulating Covid data for the state, people at the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) come back the following day and make corrections and updates and adjust the online database.
It happens often if not daily.
It might be best to keep that in mind when you see this next stat: The state's positive test rate, measured Monday for the Tuesday report, came in at 38.12 percent — by far the highest in West Virginia during th 28-month run of the highly infectious disease in West Virginia.
On Monday it was relatively high at 11.50 percent.
And while that spike stood out as an outlier in the DHHR's collection of data on Tuesday, other indicators collected over the past day and week said that yet another spread of the coronavirus is gaining steam.
Hospitalizations were up to 312 on Tuesday morning, adding three from the day prior but 88 more Covid patients in the past week for a 39 percent climb. The last time the number was this high was March 10, three months ago, when it registered 342 on a retreat from record highs set last winter.
And while the number of patients in an intensive care unit fell two to 49 on Tuesday, the total was still up 32 from one week ago.
Active cases, too, backed off a bit, falling from 2,858 on Monday to 2,817 on Tuesday. But it was the third consecutive day above 2,000 for the metric, and the 14th day in the last 15 that it had stayed above that mark.
The best statistic for the state was in no new deaths being added to the state's total of 7,091 a day after the DHHHR reported 22 Covid-related deaths over the weekend.
