PRINCETON, WV (WOAY) – Masks were coming off and people were coming out in droves as the number of COVID-19 cases went from over 29,000 at the beginning of the year to just over 2,000 by the start of summer, but that hopeful decline did not last long.
“The Covid virus is just multiplying extremely fast across the state and with this Delta variant it’s really pushing the numbers up quickly,” says Health Department Administrator Roger Topping.
Since this more aggressive and contagious Delta variant has been sweeping through our communities, around a thousand more cases spiked up just since Thursday, pushing it up to 12,736 active cases.
“Delta is so much more active than the regular Covid, it moves so much faster and that’s why we are seeing a big upswing in the number of people getting the virus now,” he says.
The recent surge in cases is leaving hospitals in a scramble to keep up with the rate of sick patients pouring in, a steadily increasing death toll, and a growing crisis that’s getting more difficult to combat by the day– getting the COVID-19 vaccine is more crucial than ever.
“It’s critical right now, because if people get vaccinated, the virus has nowhere to go, and the more people we can get vaccinated, the fewer people it has to attach to,” Topping adds.
While vaccination rates have increased, and West Virginia now sits at a little over half of a fully vaccinated population, many more people in our Mountain State still need to get the vaccine to truly combat the spread of Covid-19.
