As SC surpasses 15,000 COVID-19 cases, infection rates, hospitalizations hit new highs
Following a record breaking day, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced Tuesday that South Carolina has surpassed 15,000 coronavirus cases.
On Tuesday, 434 more people tested positive for the virus, and 11 additional people have died after contracting it, DHEC officials said. The 434 represented 14.7% of the total daily number of tests results reported Tuesday — the highest daily rate of infection the state has seen in at least the last 28 days.
Another statistic also is rapidly rising: the number of hospital beds across the state occupied by patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases or who are under investigation for the disease. On Saturday, for example, the state had 482 COVID patients being treated in hospital. In just two days, that number has rocketed up to 541.
The new coronavirus case numbers were announced as voters across the state headed to the polls to cast ballots in primary races across the state. The pandemic has led to a shortage of poll workers, consolidated precincts and added safety precautions at the polls.
Also on Tuesday, a coalition of health agencies urged the public to practice social distancing and wear masks when they leave the house. That coalition included DHEC, the S.C. Hospital Association, the S.C. Medical Association and S.C. Office of Rural Health.
Richland County saw the largest increase in cases Tuesday with 80 new positive tests. In Lexington County, officials saw 37 new cases.
Fairfield, Greenville and Lee counties each saw two deaths, while Florence, Williamsburg, Berkeley, Greenwood and Horry county each saw one.
But those figures likely don’t paint the full picture of how COVID-19 has spread across the Palmetto State. DHEC officials estimate that about 86% of coronavirus patients have not received a test, and therefore, have not been counted by state health officials.
As of Tuesday, they estimated that, in all, about 108,800 people have contracted the virus across the state.
State health officials announced Monday they had identified 542 additional coronavirus cases, the most South Carolina has seen in a single day since COVID-19 was first found in the state in March.
The milestone is just the latest sign that coronavirus activity is increasing in the state. Health officials have also seen increases in weekly number of cases, the seven-day average number of cases and the percent of tests that are positive each day, something they say is a good indicator of the virus’ spread.
Tuesday, 14.7% of tests were positive, according to DHEC. That number surpasses the average percent of positive tests that DHEC saw during March and April, when cases were increasing exponentially each day, but the state was doing less testing.
On Monday, officials said that “more people than we hoped for are testing positive.”
The increase in the virus’ spread could be due to more people leaving their homes and not practicing social distancing recommendations, DHEC and other health officials have said. Experts predicted those factors could lead to later outbreaks.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has been opening various types of businesses since April 20, including retailers, restaurants, some attractions and close-contact businesses like salons and gyms.
Both the governor and DHEC officials have recommended that residents continue to practice social distancing. Last week, McMaster called the lack of precautions “highly disappointing and highly dangerous,” during a press event Thursday.
The increase could also be due in part to DHEC’s increased testing. Health officials set a goal of testing about 2% of the state’s population in June, a milestone they crossed in May.
Since March, labs across the state have completed 256,710 tests.
On Monday, health officials warned that an uptick in the number of coronavirus patients who are hospitalized can follow weeks after an increase in COVID-19 cases.
As of Tuesday, hospitals across the state were at 71.40% capacity. About 541 of 7,425 occupied beds were being used by patients diagnosed with COVID-19 or who are suspected of having it.
The state has never seen so many beds occupied by coronavirus patients, according to DHEC data.
New coronavirus cases
Abbeville (2)
Aiken (1)
Anderson (9)
Beaufort (20)
Berkeley (9)
Calhoun (1)
Charleston (28)
Chesterfield (5)
Cherokee (3)
Clarendon (3)
Colleton (5)
Darlington (3)
Dorchester (4)
Fairfield (4)
Florence (2)
Georgetown (6)
Greenville (47)
Greenwood (15)
Hampton (1)
Horry (47)
Jasper (2)
Kershaw (7)
Lancaster (7)
Laurens (4)
Lee (2)
Lexington (37)
Newberry (5)
Orangeburg (11)
Pickens (5)
Richland (80)
Spartanburg (13)
Sumter (21)
Williamsburg (1)
York (24)
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
