SC health officials sound alarm on COVID-19 after reporting 528 new cases
South Carolina’s trend of increasing coronavirus cases continued Wednesday as Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced that 528 more people tested positive for the virus.
That number dwarfs what state health officials saw on days in March and April, when COVID-19 was spreading rapidly across the Palmetto State. It marks the third time in five days that state health officials have counted more than 500 residents who tested positive for the virus.
“I have to say that today, I am more concerned about COVID-19 in South Carolina than I ever have been before,” state epidemiologist Linda Bell said.
Bell warned that places that aren’t experiencing increased cases today may be vulnerable to outbreaks in the future.
“Your community might not be a hot spot today, but there should be no mistake that COVID-19 transmission is still high and widespread in South Carolina at this time, and it remains a threat to all of us,” Bell said.
From the number of cases per week to the percentage of tests that are positive, DHEC has recorded increased virus activity over the past 28 days.
Wednesday, 12.9% of coronavirus tests were positive, a number that trumps the average state health officials saw in March and April, about 9-11%.
“When that goes up, that is an indicator that we are detecting more sick people in a population,” Bell said.
Since March, when the first COVID-19 patients were identified in the state, South Carolina has seen a total of 15,759 cases.
DHEC officials also announced Wednesday that seven additional people died after contracting the virus, bringing the death toll to 575.
Greenville County saw the most deaths with three. Chesterfield, Florence, Newberry and Spartanburg counties each saw one death.
Greenville County also saw the largest increase in cases with 145. The Upstate County has seen some of the highest daily case counts in the state for more than a week and a half, Bell said. There, DHEC has seen several family members infecting each other and an outbreak among the local Latinx community, she added.
Locally, Richland County saw 66 new cases, and Lexington County saw 27.
But those numbers don’t paint a full picture of the coronavirus’ spread across the state. DHEC officials estimate that about 86% of COVID-19 patients have not received a test. As of Wednesday, they estimated that about 112,500 people have likely contracted the virus across the state.
The growing case counts have increased the burden on South Carolina hospitals, which have seen an increase in the number of patients with the coronavirus over the past few days. For example, on Saturday, the state had 482 COVID-19 patients being treated in the hospital, but by Tuesday, that number reached 541, an all-time high.
As of Wednesday, hospital across the state were at 73% of their capacity. About 513 of 7,608 occupied beds were being used by patients with the coronavirus, or who were suspected of having it.
Health officials have warned, though, that an uptick in coronavirus cases can lead to an increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients weeks later.
DHEC officials and health experts have said the increase in cases could be due to more people leaving their homes without wearing masks or practicing social distancing, including mass gatherings during Memorial Day weekend and protests across the state over the death of George Floyd in police custody. Experts predicted those factors could lead to later outbreaks.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster began reopening businesses on April 20, starting with some retailers. In early May, he lifted his “home or work” order and allowed restaurants to reopen both outdoor and indoor seating. And before Memorial Day weekend, he lifted restrictions on some attractions.
Wednesday, McMaster made it clear that he would not be reimplementing measures to restrict businesses, require people to wear masks, or restrict the movement of South Carolinians.
Both the governor and DHEC have urged residents to follow social distancing recommendations.
“This is a matter of personal responsibility, and its something we all have at our disposal,” McMaster said Wednesday. “It’s disappointing to go to places and see people all jammed up in crowds. ... The ultimate price for this lack of care is death. It’s serious.”
On Tuesday, a coalition of health agencies — including the S.C. Hospital Association, the S.C. Medical Association and S.C. Office of Rural Health — urged the same.
“We’re all eager to return to our normal lives or what our new normal will be, but it will take us that much longer to get there if we don’t stop the virus today,” Bell said.
“I ask everyone who’s listening to me now to think about what you can possibly do to help slow the spread of this virus, what you can personally do to protect yourself and your communities so we can return to normal activities sooner rather than later,” Bell added.
State health officials have said that their increased testing strategy could also be a contributor to the high case numbers. DHEC officials set a goal of testing about 2% of the state’s population in June, a goal they met in May. The governor echoed this hypothesis Wednesday.
“The more you test, the more you find,” McMaster said.
Since March, labs across the state have completed 261,377 coronavirus tests.
But while cases have drastically climbed in the past few weeks, the amount of testing has stayed relatively consistent since the week of May 10, according to DHEC data.
New coronavirus cases
Aiken (2)
Anderson (1)
Barnwell (1)
Beaufort (19)
Berkeley (11)
Charleston (37)
Cherokee (2)
Chesterfield (7)
Clarendon (2)
Colleton (9)
Darlington (3)
Dillon (1)
Dorchester (7)
Fairfield (3)
Florence (3)
Georgetown (8)
Greenville (145)
Greenwood (1)
Horry (79)
Kershaw (6)
Lancaster (6)
Laurens (4)
Lee (2)
Lexington (27)
Marlboro (4)
Newberry (1)
Oconee (4)
Orangeburg (4)
Pickens (14)
Richland (66)
Spartanburg (11)
Sumter (15)
Williamsburg (1)
York (22)
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 4:20 PM.
