Coronavirus cases rise to 2,792 in SC. Four more deaths reported Thursday
South Carolina health officials identified 241 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 2,792.
Of those patients, four died Thursday, increasing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 67, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The patients who died were described as elderly with underlying health conditions, and were from Anderson, Beaufort, Lee and Lexington counties.
Richland County saw the largest increase Thursday with 45 new cases, followed by neighboring Lexington County with 33.
It’s very unlikely that DHEC has tested and identified every existing case of the coronavirus in the state, though. Close to 19,500 cases likely existed in the state as of Thursday night, about 85% of which have yet to be tested or identified, according to DHEC estimates.
Labs across the state have completed 26,296 tests, 9,065 of which were performed at DHEC’s lab. About 1,071 of the tests completed at the state’s lab have been positive.
In the Midlands, identified cases have spanned nearly every ZIP code in Richland and Lexington counties.
As cases continue to rise, so will the strain on S.C. hospitals. As of Thursday, hospitals across the state were at 53.4% capacity, DHEC officials said.
State leaders plan to expand bed space in health care facilities across the state, adding about 3,000 beds by early May to the existing 6,000.
DHEC officials have also received two shipments from the national stockpile of medical supplies and expect a third shipment.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has taken several steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Thus far, he has issued a series of orders, including a mandatory “home or work” order, an order closing schools through the end of April, closing dining rooms in restaurants, closing nonessential businesses, cutting off access points to state beaches and waterways and allowing police to break up groups of three or more. McMaster also issued an executive order to allow furloughed workers to qualify for unemployment benefits.
New coronavirus cases
- Abbeville: 1
- Aiken: 10
- Anderson: 11
- Barnwell: 1
- Beaufort: 10
- Berkeley: 5
- Calhoun: 1
- Charleston: 5
- Cherokee: 1
- Chesterfield: 1
- Clarendon: 3
- Colleton: 3
- Darlington: 3
- Dillion: 2
- Dorchester: 4
- Fairfield: 1
- Florence: 6
- Georgetown: 1
- Greenville: 31
- Greenwood: 1
- Hampton: 1
- Horry: 8
- Kershaw: 5
- Lancaster: 3
- Laurens: 1
- Lee: 2
- Lexington: 33
- McCormick: 1
- Newberry: 2
- Oconee: 1
- Orangeburg: 4
- Pickens: 1
- Richland: 45
- Saluda: 2
- Spartanburg: 13
- Sumter: 9
- Union: 3
- Williamsburg: 1
- York: 5
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 4:10 PM.
