Coronavirus spreads to 160 more in South Carolina. Five more dead
State health officials have identified 160 new coronavirus cases in South Carolina, bringing the statewide total to 4,761.
S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also announced Tuesday that five additional people have died after contacting COVID-19. In all, 140 South Carolinians have died from the virus.
Three of the patients who died were elderly, and were from Berkeley, Clarendon and Richland counties. The two others — who were from Greenville and Spartanburg counties — were middle-aged.
Richland County saw the largest increase in coronavirus cases with 34. Lexington County posted five new cases.
About 72% of S.C. residents who have contracted the coronavirus have recovered, DHEC estimated Tuesday.
But that number only includes patients who were tested for the disease. DHEC projected Wednesday that more than 34,000 people across the state have contacted the virus.
DHEC officials projected Monday 750 new S.C. cases of COVID-19 per week until early May. Some models show that the state has already passed its peak number of cases, but DHEC officials say a consistent drop-off has not yet happened.
South Carolina’s first coronavirus cases were identified on March 6 in Kershaw and Charleston counties. Health officials have announced the identification of more cases nearly every day since. By the end of March, the state had amassed more than 1,000 cases.
The number of cases announced each day have fluctuated due to shortages in a chemical needed for COVID-19 testing.
As of Wednesday, a total of 43,111 tests have been done in South Carolina. Of those, 12,681 were done at DHEC’s lab.
Hospitals across the state were at 56.9% capacity Wednesday, DHEC officials said. State leaders are working to increase hospital capacity across the state by about 3,000 beds by early May.
Also Wednesday, McMaster announced that schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year.
The Columbia Republican has also eased some restrictions this week, reopening beaches and several retail businesses.
New coronavirus cases
Abbeville (4)
Aiken (12)
Anderson (3)
Barnwell (2)
Beaufort (3)
Berkeley (1)
Charleston (3)
Clarendon (11)
Darlington (7)
Edgefield (4)
Florence (15)
Georgetown (2)
Greenville (19)
Greenwood (1)
Horry (3)
Kershaw (2)
Lancaster (1)
Lexington (5)
Marion (3)
Marlboro (2)
Orangeburg (2)
Richland (34)
Saluda (6)
Spartanburg (2)
Sumter (8)
Williamsburg (1)
York (4)
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
