SC coronavirus cases surpass 8,800, as health officials report five more deaths
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 163 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 8,816 throughout the state.
Along with announcing the new cases, state health officials reported five additional deaths from COVID-19.
The death toll in South Carolina from the global pandemic has now reached 385. Four of Sunday’s deaths occurred in elderly individuals in Dillon, Horry, Richland and Sumter counties.
One death occurred in a middle-aged individual in Florence County.
Of the new cases, 15 of them are from Richland County, which continues to lead the state in positive coronavirus tests with 1,237. Greenville County also exceeded 1,000 cases this week. Greenville had 46 positive cases on Sunday.
There were nine positive tests announced Sunday in Lexington County, two in Fairfield and one in Kershaw.
As of Sunday, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 127,802 for COVID-19. Of these tests, 118,986 tests have come back negative. According to projections from DHEC, officials expect to see 950 cases this week, from May 17-23, and 9,593 cases cumulatively.
DHEC’s goal is to test two percent of the population, or 110,000 South Carolinians, per month. As of Sunday, more than 60,000 tests have been conducted for the month of May
Gov. Henry McMaster has said he is confident that the state is ready to reopen and has taken increasing steps to restart the South Carolina economy. Last week, restaurants opened for limited dine-in service so long as they operate at 50% occupancy and tables are positioned six to eight feet apart.
Starting Monday, close-contact businesses including hair salons, tattoo parlors, nail salons, gyms and pools are allowed to re-open. McMaster has also canceled his mandatory work-from-home and stay-at-home orders.
As of Sunday afternoon, 4,686,012 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 313,127 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States leads the world with 1,477,815 people who have been diagnosed with the novel virus. In the U.S., 89,207deaths have been reported, including 28,049 in New York City.
This story was originally published May 17, 2020 at 6:03 PM.
