SC nears 9,000 coronavirus cases. Death toll reaches 391 Monday.
Coronavirus cases in South Carolina neared 9,000 Monday after state health officials announced 126 additional cases.
As of Monday, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials said 8,942 South Carolinians have tested positive for the virus.
The deaths of six additional South Carolinians were also announced Monday, bringing the statewide total to 391.
Four of the patients who died were elderly, and were from Charleston, Clarendon, Lexington and Williamsburg counties. Two were middle-aged, and were from Clarendon and Florence counties.
Greenville saw the largest overall increase in cases with 20.
Locally, Richland County saw an increase of 12, and Lexington County saw two.
The number of daily cases identified each day by DHEC likely paints an incomplete picture. About 86% of people with the coronavirus in South Carolina have likely gone untested, DHEC projects. A total of about 63,900 people have had the virus in the state, they add.
Friday, DHEC officials also estimated that about 84% of those infected have recovered.
By the end of May, state health officials have projected the weekly number of coronavirus cases will likely fall to about 900. They have also projected they will have identified 10,493 COVID-19 cases by that time.
The state’s coronavirus curve is flattening, but a second wave of cases as businesses reopen is possible.
So far, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has lifted restrictions on several different types of businesses, including several retailers, beaches, boating, short-term rentals and restaurants. Monday, close-contact businesses including hair salons, tattoo parlors, nail salons, gyms and pools were allowed to reopen.
To safely reopen the state, officials need to increase testing and bulk up contact tracing staff, experts say.
DHEC has implemented a plan to nearly double the amount of testing by the end of May, with a goal of testing about 2% of the state’s population each month. In May, labs have conducted about 60,000 of the 110,000 tests they hope to finish this month.
In all, labs across the state have finished about 131,559 tests, 4,187 of which were completed yesterday.
State health officials have also added about 380 contact tracers to their staff, which formerly consisted of 20 people. DHEC has also contracted with private companies to hire 1,400 more tracers.
South Carolina hospitals have also seen an influx of patients since the coronavirus came to the state. Collectively, hospitals are at 63% capacity, and 412 beds are occupied by people who have been diagnosed with or are thought to have the respiratory illness.
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 (1)
Beaufort (2)
Berkeley (2)
Charleston (3)
Cherokee (1)
Chesterfield (2)
Clarendon (4)
Colleton (4)
Darlington (4)
Dillon (2)
Dorchester (1)
Fairfield (6)
Florence (16)
Greenville (20)
Greenwood (2)
Hampton (1)
Horry (1)
Jasper (1)
Kershaw (5)
Lee (6)
Lexington (2)
Marion (1)
Marlboro (2)
Newberry (2)
Oconee (1)
Orangeburg (1)
Richland (12)
Saluda (1)
Spartanburg (7)
Sumter (1)
York (12)
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
