DHEC reports 285 new coronavirus cases, one additional death
South Carolina’s coronavirus case count continued to grow Tuesday after Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced that tests had resulted in an additional 285 positive infections across the state.
The latest daily case count, which marked the fourth day in a row that more than 200 infections had been identified, brings the total number of COVID-19 cases statewide to 12,415.
The death toll also increased to 501 after one person who contracted the virus died. That person was elderly and from Horry County.
Greenville County saw the largest increase in cases with 65 new infections.
In the Midlands, Richland County saw 12 new cases, and Lexington County saw 20.
State health officials suspect that the infections they’ve been able to identify only give a narrow window into how COVID-19 has actually spread across the state.
DHEC officials estimate that as many as 86% of coronavirus cases across the state have gone unidentified. As of Tuesday, they estimated that about 88,700 South Carolinians have actually had the virus.
South Carolina’s first coronavirus cases were identified in March in Kershaw and Charleston counties. Since then, 85% of people who tested positive for the virus recovered, officials say.
Over the last few weeks, DHEC has recorded an increase in coronavirus activity. The weekly number of people who test positive for the coronavirus, the seven day average number of cases and the percent of tests that turn up positive have all increased, according to DHEC data. Over the weekend, the state saw record numbers of cases.
On Tuesday, 9.1% of tests completed were positive, a number DHEC officials say is close to what they regularly saw in March and early April as the number of cases was exponentially multiplying.
Since mid-April, the percent positive had steadily fallen, reaching a low of 2.4% on May 17. But, in the last two weeks, that figure is beginning to tick back up from day to day. Five of the last seven days have seen percent of positive tests rise above 6%.
DHEC has also predicted that the state will see an increase in positive tests each week until mid-June.
State health officials increased testing strategy may contribute to the increase. The public health agency wants to test about 2% of the state’s population in June, having already met that goal in May.
Across the state, labs have completed 225,047 tests.
Hospitals have also been impacted by the coronavirus. As of Tuesday, 67% of hospital beds across the state were occupied. Of those, 425 beds are being used by COVID-19 patients or those who are suspected of having the virus.
Some experts say the increase in cases could be due to more South Carolinians going out in public, which could lead to later COVID-19 outbreaks.
Since April 20, Gov. Henry McMaster has been incrementally reopening businesses, starting with retail businesses and restaurants and adding close-contact businesses such as salons and gyms, where customers and staff sometimes are in close contact, and attractions. However, both he and DHEC officials have continued to urge residents to practice social distancing.
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 tracers, who work to contact anyone who came near someone who tests positive for COVID-19.
New coronavirus cases
Abbeville (1)
Aiken (2)
Anderson (3)
Bamberg (1)
Beaufort (9)
Berkeley (2)
Charleston (17)
Chester (4)
Chesterfield (5)
Clarendon (4)
Colleton (3)
Darlington (9)
Dillon (3)
Dorchester (2)
Fairfield (2)
Florence (6)
Georgetown (2)
Greenville (65)
Greenwood (2)
Horry (18)
Kershaw (2)
Lancaster (27)
Laurens (1)
Lee (2)
Lexington (20)
Marion (1)
Marlboro (10)
Newberry (2)
Oconee (1)
Orangeburg (8)
Pickens (9)
Richland (12)
Spartanburg (5)
Sumter (9)
Union (2)
Williamsburg (7)
York (7)
This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
