SC coronavirus cases hit 6,258 as death toll grows to 256
South Carolina coronavirus cases reached 6,258 Friday after S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials identified 160 new cases.
Florence County saw the largest increase with 21 cases.
Locally, Richland County, officials identified 16 additional cases, and Lexington County posted nine.
State health officials also identified 12 additional S.C. patients who have died after contracting COVID-19, bringing the statewide death toll to 256.
All but one of the individuals who died were elderly and from the following counties: Clarendon (3); Florence (1); Greenville (1); Horry (1); Orangeburg (1); Richland (1); Spartanburg (2) and Williamsburg (2) counties.
About 85% of coronavirus cases across the state have not yet been tested and identified, DHEC officials estimate. That means the state has likely seen about 44,700 cases.
They also estimated Friday about 78% of patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have recovered.
Also Friday, Gov. Henry McMaster removed his mandatory work-or-home order and allowed restaurants to host diners in outdoor seating. Eateries must follow a set of guidelines issued by the S.C. Restaurants Association while serving customers. The change will go into affect Monday.
“We are confident that our people will be able to implement those guidelines and have good service outside of these restaurants,” said McMaster, who also lifted a restriction on short-term rentals and a self-quarantine mandate for S.C. visitors.
Asked what he would do if the state experienced a spike in cases after reopening some businesses, McMaster was non-committal.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said, adding that the state is well-positioned to handle whatever the future may hold.
DHEC officials expect about 1,200 positive cases per week through mid-May. By May 16, the state will see 9,064 identified cases, according to agency projections.
South Carolina’s coronavirus curve is beginning to appear to level, state epidemiologist Linda Bell said. But for now, she said it is “critical” that people continue to follow guidelines from DHEC and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
DHEC is focused on testing and contact tracing, she said. Since the coronavirus outbreak, DHEC has increased their contact tracer division from 20 to 200 employees.
McMaster said that number was “not enough.”
Bell said DHEC officials are recruiting medical students and furloughed health care workers to help with contact investigations.
Across the state, labs have finished 59,379 tests, 15,690 of which were done at DHEC’s lab.
S.C. hospitals are at 59.2% capacity.
New coronavirus cases
Aiken (2)
Allendale (1)
Anderson (3)
Barnwell (1)
Beaufort (6)
Berkeley (2)
Charleston (6)
Chesterfield (7)
Clarendon (4)
Colleton (6)
Darlington (4)
Dillon (2)
Dorchester (3)
Florence (21)
Greenville (11)
Hampton (3)
Horry (8)
Jasper (2)
Lancaster (3)
Lee (2)
Lexington (9)
Marion (2)
Marlboro (1)
Newberry (1)
Orangeburg (5)
Pickens (3)
Richland (16)
Saluda (4)
Spartanburg (6)
Sumter (2)
Williamsburg (9)
York (5)
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 4:25 PM.
