West Virginia reports another week of record virus deaths

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia has smashed another weekly record for deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic, while the number of residents hospitalized for COVID-19 has come down in recent days.

According to health officials, 160 people died in the state from the virus for the week ending Sunday, breaking the mark of 130 deaths set during the previous week. It was the third straight week of record deaths and the sixth time in seven weeks.

At least 1,128 people have died statewide since the pandemic started.

The number of people hospitalized due to the virus dipped to 693 on Saturday, down from the record of 781 on Wednesday. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units also was down to 174 on Saturday from the record 207 last Monday.

The number of active virus cases in the state has jumped 86% in the past month to at least 22,634.
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Kassie Simmons
Kassie Simmons joined the team in January 2019 as a weekend journalist. She graduated from Virginia Tech in just two and a half years with a BA in multimedia journalism. During her short time at Virginia Tech, she served as the editor for the university’s chapter of The Tab. Kassie was named the top reporter for The Tab at Virginia Tech on multiple occasions and made the list for the top 30 reporters for The Tab in the U.S. She also studied theater performance and minored in creative writing. Before coming to WOAY, Kassie interned at WSLS in Roanoke and the Tidewater Review in her hometown of West Point, Va. She has loved following breaking news since her childhood and has a passion for delivering the stories people care most about. Kassie is excited to be working in Southern West Virginia and looks forward to all the adventures ahead of her. You can follow her on Twitter at @KassieLSimmons and like her page on Facebook. If you have a story you think she should check out, send her an email at ksimmons@woay.com.