DHEC announces 595 new coronavirus cases. What does that mean for SC?
South Carolina health officials announced Tuesday that 595 more people have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the statewide total number of cases to 19,990.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also announced that five additional people died after contracting COVID-19, bringing the death toll up to 607.
Which counties were affected?
Of the five people who died, three were elderly and came from Chesterfield, Colleton and Richland counties. Two were middle-aged and from Dillon and Richland counties.
Horry County saw the largest increase in cases with 86. It was followed by Greenville County with 70. Both areas have been declared hot spots for COVID-19 by DHEC officials.
Locally, Richland County saw 56 new cases, and Lexington saw 33.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Coronavirus activity in South Carolina is increasing. Last week, state health officials recorded daily case counts ranging from 434 to 802, hundreds of more cases than officials saw on days in March, April and early May.
From mid-April to mid-May, health officials saw an average of about 166 cases per day. From June 7 to June 14, the state saw an average of 619 new cases per day.
DHEC has long pointed to the percentage of tests that are positive as a good indicator of the virus’ spread in the state. Over the last 28 days, that percentage has gone up.
Of the total tests announced Tuesday, 13.7% were positive, a number that reflects what officials were seeing on days in March and early April, when cases were increasing rapidly, but officials were doing less testing. Seven of the last eight days have seen percent of positive tests rise above 10%.
At its lowest point, the percent of positive tests fell between 2-4% on average.
Are all the cases accounted for?
DHEC officials estimate that as much as 86% of COVID-19 patients have not been tested or identified.
On Tuesday, they estimated that in all, 142,800 people across the state likely have had the virus.
How are hospitals fairing?
As COVID-19 spreads, the burden on S.C. hospitals increases, though apparently slowly. In all, hospitals across the state have about 10,500 total beds.
As of Tuesday, hospitals across the state were at 68% capacity. Of the 7,175 occupied beds, 571 were being used by patients who were diagnosed with or suspected of having the coronavirus.
Local hospitals have slightly less capacity than hospitals statewide.
Locally, 69.8% of hospital beds in Richland County are in use, and 72.4% are in Lexington County, according to DHEC data.
In seven of the last nine days, the number of COVID-19 patients, confirmed or suspected, who were hospitalized exceeded 500. In April and May, the number of hospitalized patients averaged at about 411, and never surpassed 500.
DHEC officials have warned that an uptick in coronavirus cases may lead to an increase in hospitalizations weeks later.
Why are cases up?
DHEC officials have said the increase in coronavirus cases could be due to more people leaving their homes and fewer people wearing masks and practicing social distancing. They especially voiced this concern around Memorial Day weekend, which drove crowds to entertainment and tourist communities.
Starting April 20, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has gradually reopened businesses, including restaurants, retailers, beaches and close contact businesses like gyms and salons. The Columbia Republican pushed to open some attractions as well by Memorial Day.
The governor has also said that he does not plan to reimpose or add new restrictions on businesses or require residents to wear masks, adding that it’s South Carolinians’ individual responsibility to practice social distancing.
How does DHEC’s testing strategy change that?
DHEC officials have said their increased testing strategy could also be driving up the number of cases identified each day.
The state health agency set a goal of testing about 2% of the state’s population is June, a goal they met in May.
Since March, labs have completed 299,033 tests.
But while cases have increased dramatically, the number of daily tests has stayed relatively steady since the week of May 10, completing about 35,000 tests a week.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 3:10 PM.
