SC coronavirus cases hit 10,416 Tuesday. Death toll reaches 446
South Carolina’s coronavirus case count rose Tuesday after state Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced that 253 more people tested positive for the virus.
Since March, health officials have identified 10,416 cases of COVID-19 statewide.
DHEC officials also announced Tuesday that six additional people have died after contracting the virus, bringing South Carolina’s death toll to 446.
Four of the people who died were elderly, and were from Fairfield; Florence; Greenville and Spartanburg counties. The other two were young adults with underlying health conditions from Greenville and Lexington counties.
Greenville County saw the largest increase in cases with 46.
In the Midlands, Richland County saw 21 new cases, and Lexington County saw 14.
DHEC’s coronavirus count is likely just a fraction of the total number of cases. State health officials estimate that as many as 86% of people who have contracted COVID-19 have not been tested or diagnosed.
That means 74,400 people across the state have likely had the virus as of Tuesday.
DHEC officials project that the state will see an increase in positive tests until at least the second week of June. By then, they expect the state will see 1,400 cases a week.
This week, they project to see 1,300 new cases. By the end of May, state health officials expect 11,396 confirmed cases.
The increase in coronavirus cases could be in part due to DHEC’s plans to expand coronavirus testing. State health officials are attempting to test about 2% of the state’s population in May and again in June. Tuesday, DHEC officials met that goal, completing more than 110,000 tests in May alone.
“We want South Carolinians to know that DHEC is doing everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19, and a key component of that is increasing our testing capacity,” DHEC Director Rick Toomey said. “DHEC continues to work with federally qualified health centers, hospitals, and other community partners to expand COVID-19 testing across the state as part of our statewide testing strategy. Together, we can increase the availability of testing and help everyone continue to take the steps needed to help slow the spread of COVID-19.”
As of Tuesday, labs across the state have completed 178,119 tests.
But experts have also said that the state may see a second wave of cases as businesses reopen.
Since April 20, Gov. Henry McMaster has been incrementally reopening businesses. Both he and DHEC officials have continued to recommend that residents practice social distancing, though.
DHEC has taken other steps to help with a safe reopening, including increasing their contact tracing staff from 20 to 380. They’ve also contracted with private companies to hire 1,400 more.
New coronavirus cases
- Aiken (3)
- Anderson (3)
- Beaufort (9)
- Berkeley (1)
- Calhoun (1)
- Charleston (8)
- Cherokee (3)
- Chester (3)
- Chesterfield (9)
- Clarendon (2)
- Colleton (2)
- Darlington (8)
- Dillon (4)
- Dorchester (1)
- Florence (7)
- Georgetown (2)
- Greenville (46)
- Greenwood (10)
- Horry (5)
- Jasper (1)
- Kershaw (6)
- Lancaster (1)
- Laurens (1)
- Lee (9)
- Lexington (14)
- Marion (1)
- Marlboro (5)
- Newberry (2)
- Orangeburg (10)
- Pickens (3)
- Richland (21)
- Saluda (1)
- Spartanburg (36)
- Sumter (1)
- Union (3)
- Williamsburg (5)
- York (6)
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 4:21 PM.
