SC coronavirus death toll reaches 380, 232 new cases announced Friday
The coronavirus death toll in South Carolina reached 380 Friday after state Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced that nine more people have died after contracting the virus.
Along with the rise in deaths, DHEC officials say COVID-19 has spread to 232 more people across the Palmetto State, bringing the statewide total to 8,407.
All but one of the patients who died were elderly. Three were from Sumter County, and the rest were from Cherokee, Clarendon, Fairfield, Florence and Pickens counties.
One patient who died was middle-aged and from Clarendon County.
Greenville County saw the largest increase in cases with 31, pushing the county’s total number of cases to more than 1,000. The only other county with more than 1,000 cases is Richland County.
Locally, Richland County saw an increase of 18 cases, and Lexington County saw 13.
DHEC officials estimate, though, that as many as 86% of people who have contracted the coronavirus have gone untested. As of Friday, they estimated the state has actually seen closer to 60,000 coronavirus cases.
Of the people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, about 81% of them have recovered, DHEC officials said.
DHEC officials are projecting that by the end of May, the weekly number of COVID-19 cases will fall to 900. By then, they also project they will have identified 10,493 cases.
While the state’s coronavirus curve is flattening, a second wave of cases is possible as businesses and restaurants reopen.
To safely reopen the state, officials need to increase testing and bulk up contact tracing staff, experts say.
DHEC officials have vowed to nearly double the amount of testing by the end of May. Their goal is to test 2% of the state’s population each month.
Thus far, about 1.7% of South Carolinians have been tested, amounting to 109,616 total tests.
State health officials have also hired about 380 new contact tracers, and has contracted with private companies for 1,400 more.
S.C. hospitals have seen an influx in patients. Hospitals are at 67.18% capacity and 423 beds are occupied by people who have been diagnosed with or suspected to have COVID-19.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has taken several steps to reopen the state, most recently lifting restrictions on close-contact businesses including hair salons, tattoo parlors, nail salons, gyms and pools starting Monday. And restaurants have been allowed to open for limited dine-in services.
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.
State health officials and McMaster continue to recommend residents practice social distancing as businesses reopen. Both McMaster and state epidemiologist Linda Bell have expressed concerns about residents not following those recommendations.
New coronavirus cases
Aiken (2)
Allendale (1)
Anderson (1)
Barnwell (2)
Beaufort (4)
Berkeley (2)
Charleston (11)
Chester (1)
Cherokee (1)
Chesterfield (3)
Clarendon (8)
Colleton (7)
Darlington (13)
Dillon (2)
Fairfield (12)
Florence (18)
Greenville (31)
Greenwood (1)
Hampton (1)
Horry (6)
Kershaw (4)
Lancaster (2)
Laurens (7)
Lee (4)
Lexington (13)
Marion (1)
Marlboro (5)
Oconee (1)
Pickens (2)
Richland (18)
Saluda (4)
Spartanburg (17)
Sumter (13)
Williamsburg (6)
York (8)
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
