West Virginia hits daily record in new cases

CHARLESTON >> West Virginia set two daily records in the past week for positive coronavirus cases as the pandemic continues to ravage the state.

Thursday’s total of confirmed cases was a record 1,738, only to be broken by Saturday’s total of 1,821, according to state health data. The previous one-day high of more than 1,700 was set on Dec. 31.

The statewide total of 7,849 positive cases for the six days ending Saturday has already passed the seven-day total for the previous week, which had been the second-highest during the pandemic. Sunday’s figures will be released on Monday.

The highest for one week was nearly 8,200 cases in early January, a time when virus vaccines were being offered only for people ages 65 and older.

The amount of weekly virus deaths statewide has gone up steadily since early August, when six deaths were reported for the week of Aug. 9. There have been 83 deaths in the past week.