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ELKINS -- With the omicron variant present in West Virginia, local health officials are urging residents to use extra precaution when traveling and gathering with family members this holiday weekend.
Three additional COVID-related deaths were confirmed in Randolph County, including a 37-year-old man, a 72-year-old woman and an 89-year-old man. West Virginia has seen a total of 5,191 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since the pandemic began, including 53 in Randolph County.
The state Department of Health and Human Resources' database also indicated that there were two other area deaths due to the virus over the weekend, a 59-year-old woman from Upshur County, and a 64-year-old man from Barbour County.
Randolph County's active cases total has jumped from 117 to 128.
"We had several people go off quarantine, but we had a lot of active cases come in today and they were still coming in the office when I left," Bonnie Woodrum, the Randolph-Elkins Health Department's infectious disease specialist, told The Inter-Mountain Monday. "
With the spread of the virus now on an upswing and the omicron variant being confirmed in 44 states, including West Virginia, Woodrum said it's crucial for people to take every precaution they can during the holidays.
"People really need to take precautions this week to help safeguard their families," Woodrum said. "If people are feeling symptoms they may be best suited to go and get tested before heading out to gather, or be around others. We are not going to convince people to not get together with their families for Christmas, but they can do their best to protect others around them."
Woodrum said if a person is showing any symptoms at all, they should just stay at home rather than to put others at risk. She also said it is also very important for everyone to wear a mask when gathering anywhere around people.
"We have to start wearing our masks like we were at one point in time," Woodrum said. "We need to start being as careful as we can be with this or its going to get really bad."
Woodrum said being vaccinated is still the best defense against the coronavirus and any of its variants. Vaccines and boosters can be administered at the health department by appointment. Testing continues to be done daily across the street from the Elkins-Randolph Health Department in the ofd IGA parking lot.
"Even people who are vaccinated should take strict precautions," Woodrum said. "You can still get the omicron variant if you're vaccinated, but you're less likely to get sick to the point where you end up in the hospital. It's much more contagious and right now the primary variant is still delta."
Like most places, the Davis Medical Center is also feeling the strain of having to battle the virus, during what experts are now calling "the winter COVID-19 surge."
"The hospital is full right now. They don't have anybody on a vent, or at least yesterday evening they didn't," Woodrum said. "But they have COVID patients on the floors and COVID in ICU."