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ELKINS – Three local residents were among 47 new COVID-19-related deaths reported by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources on Monday.
The deaths of two Randolph County men were included on the list, an 81-year-old and a 58-year-old. The third local resident was a 60-year-old man from Barbour County. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in West Virginia is now 3,769.
Davis Medical Center reported on Monday that currently 21 COVID-positive patients are hospitalized at the facility. Six of these patients are being treated in the intensive care unit. Five of those in intensive care are on ventilators, officials said.
The good news, however, is that the number of active cases in the state and the immediate region continues to decline. The Randolph-Elkins Department of Health reported Monday that there were 130 active cases in the county; that’s a significant drop from last Monday’s 201 tally. There were 412 active cases in Randolph on September 17.
“We have seen a steady decline over the past three and a half weeks or so,” Bonnie Woodrum, an infectious disease specialist in the Randolph-Elkins health department, told The Inter-Mountain on Tuesday. “It’s steadily decreasing, but we’re still getting new cases reported, and we’re getting them from a lot of young people.
“They don’t come that fast and that’s a great relief. But the hospital’s numbers are not going down yet. I hope they will do it soon, because they have really been pushed to the limit.
There may be more good news on the COVID horizon, as it looks like the first pill to treat the coronavirus could be available in a few months. Molnupiravir has been shown to prevent hospitalization, serious illness and death in COVID patients, although it is still in advanced stages of clinical trials.
“It hasn’t even been approved for emergency use yet, but they have high hopes for it,” Woodrum said of the new drug. “It’s an antiviral and we’ve had it for several years to use against things like chickenpox and shingles. They’ve been working on this one for a long time and it looks like it’s going to be a real boom. “
The Randolph-Elkins Department of Health currently offers booster and regular doses of the vaccine by appointment only. Booster doses are currently only available for people 65 years of age and older and for those with weakened immune systems.
“We are still getting candidates for vaccinations, but we are getting more candidates for booster doses,” Woodrum said. “We keep pushing vaccinations because it’s the best protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death. People should always take precautions because many people can still test positive and have no symptoms. Even people who have been vaccinated can pick it up and carry it when they are not showing any symptoms on their own. “
PCR tests for COVID-19 are still available five days a week in the old IGA parking lot next to the health department.
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