COVID-19 cases in the state have remained around 3,000 active cases for weeks, but hospitalizations continue to climb.
West Virginia reached 399 COVID-19 hospitalizations Tuesday, bringing the state that much closer to the predetermined statewide capacity of 500 coronavirus hospitalizations.
“We have moved our number back to 500 to do planning exercises, and that, at this point, is scheduled for in the near future,” State Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh said.
Marsh pointed out that the hospitals’ issue is not just with COVID cases, but with broader stressors on the medical system, like staffing shortages.
“Hospitals are currently not having capacity limitations just because of COVID,” Marsh said. “Many hospitals have big backlogs of surgeries and medical care that people put off during the COVID pandemic surges that we had seen previously. So the hospitals are very full, both with some more patients with COVID, but also with people without. So we continue to work with them closely.”
Gov. Jim Justice and Marsh continue to urge that the best protection against serious infection and long COVID is vaccination.