Coronavirus cases surpass 10,000 in SC, 10 more deaths reported

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Carolina surpassed 10,000 on Sunday as the death toll rose by 10 to 435.

SC health officials reported 209 new cases, pushing the state’s overall total of infections to 10,096. South Carolina is the 30th state with more than 10,000 coronavirus cases according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sunday also was the fifth straight day there have been more than 200 new cases reported by health officials.

Of the 209 new cases, 14 were from Richland County. Richland continues to lead the state in coronavirus cases with 1,361. Greenville County had 54 new cases on Sunday and has second most in state with 1,286.

Lexington County had six new cases.

Officials also announced 10 new deaths on Sunday related to COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 435. Nine of the deaths announced Sunday occurred in elderly individuals from Clarendon, Greenville (2), Kershaw, Lexington (2), Spartanburg, Sumter and Williamsburg counties. One death occurred in a middle-aged individual from Greenville County.

The new cases come as S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has been reopening the state’s economy. Last week, McMaster announced that attractions could open for Memorial Day weekend, always a busy time for the state’s tourism economy. The governor already has allowed restaurants and retail businesses to reopen with restrictions.

The state health department also has been ramping up testing and hiring contact tracers, people who track the spread of infection in an effort to curb transmission.

As of May 23, a total of 168,908 total tests have been conducted in the state by both DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory and private labs. Of those tests, 153,851 — or about 91% — have come back negative.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control DHEC continues to estimate that roughly 86% of coronavirus cases across the state have gone untested or unidentified. The number of coronavirus cases identified per week has varied between 1,012 and 1,220 over the past month. DHEC projects 1,024 new cases this week.

As of this morning, 3,609 inpatient hospital beds are available and 6,560 are in use, which is a 64.51% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 6,560 inpatient beds currently used, 461 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

As of Sunday afternoon, 5,360,841 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 343,364 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States leads the world with 1,632,721 people who have been diagnosed with the novel virus. In the U.S., 97,424 deaths have been reported, including 29,141 in New York City.

This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 3:39 PM.