On a day that witnessed the American COVID-19 death toll exceed 400,000, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources also reported 21 additional residents of the Mountain State have succumbed to complications of the virus.
Among those confirmed deceased are a 92-year-old Fayette County man, a 46-year-old Raleigh County man, a 78-year-old Pleasants County man, an 82-year-old Wood County man, an 86-year-old Wyoming County woman, a 55-year-old Mercer County woman, a 72-year-old Mercer County man, an 85-year-old Jackson County woman, a 75-year-old Berkeley County woman, a 79-year-old Raleigh County man, a 90-year-old Putnam County man, a 59-year-old Cabell County man, an 87-year-old Mercer County man, a 92-year-old Harrison County man, a 92-year-old Fayette County man, an 81-year-old Mercer County man, a 71-year-old Fayette County woman, an 89-year-old Mercer County woman, an 88-year-old Preston County man, an 81-year-old Upshur County man and a 65-year-old Marion County man.
As of Wednesday, January 20, 1,836 West Virginians have lost their lives to COVID-19.
An additional 857 new cases of the virus were identified statewide in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases to 26,217. The daily positivity-rate is 7.70% and the cumulative positivity-rate is 5.52%.
As the vaccination effort continues across West Virginia, phone systems are becoming overwhelmed with callers attempting to schedule vaccination appointments.
In a social media post dated Jan. 20, officials from the Greenbrier County Health Department said, “We know that many people are getting a busy signal when calling the vaccine hotline. The system is experiencing very high call volume. We’re actively working to resolve the problem with the phone system’s engineers. If you don’t get through, please call back later. If you leave a voicemail, we will call you back as soon as possible. The vaccine hotline number is 304-664-4147. Please do not call the Health Department to be placed on the waiting list.”
West Virginia has now received 156,300 first-doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 75,500 second doses. Thus far, 26,162 residents have been fully vaccinated with both courses.
At present, 655 West Virginians are hospitalized with COVID-19, 161 of whom are receiving care in the ICU, while 79 are being assisted through ventilators. The West Virginia DHHR reports that 83,624 residents who had previously tested positive for the virus have since recovered.
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