SC coronavirus cases hit 7,927. Death toll reaches 355 Tuesday.
Coronavirus cases in South Carolina continue to rise after 147 people tested positive for the virus, bringing the statewide total to 7,927, state health officials said Tuesday.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also announced that nine additional people have died after contracting COVID-19, raising the death toll to 355.
One of the people who died was a middle-aged person from Aiken County. The others were described as elderly and were from Darlington (2); Florence (1); Richland (2); Spartanburg (1) and Williamsburg (2) counties.
Greenville County saw the largest increase in cases Tuesday with 33.
Locally, Richland County officials identified 23 cases while Lexington County announced two.
DHEC officials say case counts don’t accurately reflect the scope of the coronavirus. As many as 86% of South Carolinians who have had the virus have not been tested, according to health officials.
Tuesday, officials estimated 56,600 people have contracted the virus since March.
Of the people who tested positive for the coronavirus, about 81% of them have recovered, DHEC officials said.
About 1,000 new coronavirus cases are expected this week, according to officials. By the end of May, they expect to see about 900 new cases per week.
By the last week of May, DHEC projects the state will have a total of 10,493 coronavirus cases.
The coronavirus curve is flattening in South Carolina, they say, but the state could see a second wave of cases as S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lifts restrictions on businesses.
To safely reopen, health experts say the state needs to increase its contact tracing and testing.
DHEC officials are planning to nearly double the amount of testing by the end of May, with a goal of testing 2% of the state’s population each month. So far, about 1.7% of the state’s residents have been tested.
Every resident and staff member at S.C. nursing homes will be tested too.
DHEC officials have also worked to increase their contact tracing efforts, adding about 380 staff and contracting with private companies for 1,400 contact tracers.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has taken steps to reopen the state, including lifting restrictions on close-contact businesses — including hair salons, tattoo parlors, nail salons, gyms and pools — Monday.
Restaurants were allowed to open for limited dine-in services Monday. The governor has also lifted restrictions on boating, short-term rentals, beaches and visitors to the state. He also lifted his mandatory work-or-home order.
DHEC officials and McMaster have recommended residents continue to practice social distancing as businesses reopen.
New coronavirus cases
- Aiken (4)
- Allendale (1)
- Anderson (3)
- Barnwell (2)
- Beaufort (2)
- Berkeley (2)
- Charleston (8)
- Clarendon (2)
- Dorchester (1)
- Fairfield (1)
- Florence (11)
- Georgetown (2)
- Greenville (33)
- Horry (2)
- Kershaw (2)
- Lancaster (4)
- Lee (3)
- Lexington (2)
- Marion (2)
- Oconee (2)
- Orangeburg (3)
- Pickens (3)
- Richland (23)
- Saluda (1)
- Spartanburg (5)
- Sumter (4)
- Williamsburg (4)
- York (15)
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 2:52 PM.
