… but don’t give COVID
We broke records here in West Virginia last week — but not in a good way.
A record number of single day cases — 885 new cases reported Wednesday.
A record number of new deaths — 16 deaths reported on Tuesday. (We’re not counting Monday’s unprecedented count of 28 since at least some of those were previously unreported deaths.)
As of early Thursday afternoon (the data available at the time of writing), West Virginia’s stats were as follows: 30,897 total positive coronavirus cases; 8,187 active cases; 555 deaths; 3.87% daily percent positive and our cumulative percent positive had passed Gov. Jim Justice’s 3% benchmark to sit at 3.13%. Our cumulative percent positivity hasn’t been this high since the end of April, indicating that COVID-19 is making a new surge in the Mountain State.
If infection rates don’t impress you, then let’s talk about COVID-19 deaths. West Virginia recorded its first COVID-related death March 29. It took us just shy of six months to record a total of 275 deaths (Sept. 14). We have doubled that death count in two months, from 275 to over 550. The coronavirus is spreading in our communities, and it is killing.
Given the incubation period for the coronavirus is thought to be about two weeks, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think that our current spike is related to Halloween weekend activities. Monongalia County’s infection rate last week was well into the orange and had jumped into the red Thursday. (Of course, on Justice’s technicolor dream-map, Mon shows green because the percent positivity is only 2.5.) We’re not trying to blame trick-or-treating for the surge; please remember there was also a home WVU football game that weekend and Cabell (Huntington), Kanawha (Charleston) and Berkley (Martinsburg) are also showing infection rates well into the red. Halloween/game-day celebrations abounded throughout the state — throughout the country, really — and, unfortunately, not everyone acts responsibly.
We look to Thanksgiving week with even greater trepidation. The spontaneous dancing in the streets — and respondent protests — Nov. 7 when Joe Biden was declared the president-elect will likely become a super-spreader event. The mass gatherings nationwide have practically guaranteed a massive COVID spike right around Thanksgiving. Even worse, many people still plan to travel to visit friends and family for the occasion, potentially turning the holiday into yet another super-spreader event that could create another surge just in time for Christmas.
The CDC also updated its guidelines to confirm what many of us hoped was true: Wearing a mask helps protect the wearer from catching coronavirus as well as lowers the chance of him/her spreading it. The protection aspect isn’t as good as the prevention aspect (up to 50% filtration to protect the wearer from inhaling coronavirus particles vs. up to 80% to block exhaled particles), but it’s still good news and all the more reason to wear your mask.
This might be the season of giving, but COVID-19 is not on anyone’s wish list.
