US state of West Virginia broke two unwanted daily records in
the past week regarding positive coronavirus cases as the pandemic continues to
rage on in the state.

The state recorded a total of 1,738 confirmed cases of the
virus on Thursday, which was a record. This record could not last long and was broken
by Saturday’s total of 1,821 confirmed cases of the virus, according to state
health data. The previous one-day high of more than 1,700 was set on December
31 last year.

The state-wide total of 7,849 positive cases for the six
days ending Saturday has already passed the seven-day total for the previous
week, which had been the second-highest during the pandemic. The state
authorities have not yet released Sunday’s figures and they will be released on
Monday.

The highest number of cases recorded in one week in the
state is nearly 8,200 cases in early January, a time when virus vaccines were
being offered only for people ages 65 and older.

The amount of weekly virus deaths state-wide has gone up
steadily since early August, when six deaths were reported for the week of
August 9. There have been 83 deaths in the past week. 3,207 people have lost
their lives due to the virus since the pandemic began in West Virginia.

People in the United States who were not fully vaccinated
this spring and summer were over 10 times more likely to be hospitalised, and
11 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those who had taken both their
vaccine doses, according to a major study published on Friday by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, highlighting the importance and the
efficacy of the three available vaccines.

“The bottom line is this: We have the scientific tools
we need to turn the corner on this pandemic,” CDC Director Rochelle
Walensky said at a White House COVID-19 briefing Friday, the Washington Post
report. “Vaccination works and will protect us from the severe
complications of COVID-19.”