Virus/Ransomeware while using Logic

I am having some serious issues with my Imac (I think)

The first time I noticed some peculiarities is yesterday when suddenly MS Word would not start. It kept saying it had a serious error, and would start, but then it would immediately prevent me from going any further, and shut itself down. I didn't do anything about it, figuring I would deal with it later.

But I did run a thorough virus scan using Avast and it said I had 10 infections. I chose to delete them. (this in of itself was unnerving).

Later that evening I was recording a session using Logic Pro. Suddenly, a message came up saying that my computer may be being attacked by ransomeware. It then presented the Logic splash screen, but with two buttons. One said : Recover files? the other said Delete Them? I think, but I am not sure, that it specified that there 10 files in question.

Because I was recording an important session, and because I panicked, I foolishly clicked on Recover Files. Having realized that that choice was probably not a good thing, I immediately turned off my Mac.

Luckily, I use Acronis True Image and I make it a point to back up my entire Imac every week. I was thus able to recover my image. I chose an image from a couple of days ago (prior to my having the problem with Word).

The image worked and my computer was back up. I again re-ran a thorough scan and it again tells me that I have 10 infections (the scan is still running as I type but it is 97% done, having run overnight).

I notice that my computer is sluggish...often times presenting the little spinning circle rather than firing up apps...but not always. I also notice that Word still does not work, even though it did a week ago.

At this point, i have no idea what to do. Is my Imac infected with something serious?

I am using the free version of Avast. I was going to upgrade to the paid version once I got this infection thing happening, but I noticed they want a monthly payment, which I do not like the idea of.

I don't mind buying a virus package if it is a yearly renewal option, but I have no idea what is best to buy, or if this is somethign I need to do next.

I guess my main question is, what do I do next aside from waiting for the virus scan to finish and again delete the infections it found.

Should I restore my image from an Acronis recovery file that is older (perhaps a week back when I was not having problems?). Should I buy a virus scanner?

Thank-you for your time and expertise!

P.S. I am using High Sierra with 16 GB of memory. My Imac is a late 2009

I did not mean to cross post this, but it initially would not let me post to this forum, so i posted to the Logic forum first.