CHARLESTON — Active COVID-19 cases have increased three straight days in West Virginia, according to the statistics from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The low this week was 308 active cases on Tuesday. Active cases on Friday were 437. The pandemic high during the delta variant surge was more than 21,700 in late January.

The state also reported 117 new cases of the virus were received in the 24-hour period between Thursday and Friday’s pandemic updates.

Three more confirmed deaths from the virus were reported on Friday, raising the total dead to 6,794 residents in West Virginia.

The state reported the deaths of a 60-year-old man from Kanawha County, an 81-year-old man from Randolph County and and an 89-year-old man from Pocahontas County.

Active cases in local counties Friday (Thursday) were: Randolph, 7 (7); Tucker, 5 (7); Upshur, 2 (2) Barbour, 1 (0); Pocahontas, 1 (1).

Wirt County remains at gold on the County Alert System Map. Gold is mid-level in the system based on rates of infection. All other counties are green, the lowest level.

The rating is based on the lower of infection rate and percentage of tests coming back positive. Calhoun, Gilmer and Ritchie counties are in the yellow range for infection rate, but are classified as green because the percent positive is in the green range.

One staff case and 10 inmate cases were reported by the Division of Corrections. Eight inmate cases are at the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County.

Eighty-eight patients with COVID-19 complications are in a hospital, 45 of them unvaccinated.

Thirty-one patients are in an intensive care unit, 15 unvaccinated, and 11 are on ventilators, six of them unvaccinated.