More than 1,000 hospitalized with COVID-19, more than 1,300 new cases identified in SC
After five days in a row with more than 1,000 South Carolinians testing positive for the coronavirus, state health officials reported Monday they had identified another 1,320 cases.
Since March, 34,546 COVID-19 cases have been positively identified in the Palmetto State.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also counted four more people who died after contracting the virus, bringing the state’s death toll up to 717.
The state also saw a record number of its residents hospitalized with COVID-19. As of Monday, 1,032 people were in the hospital who had been diagnosed with the virus or who were thought to have it.
Which counties were affected?
Charleston County continued its streak of leading the state in new cases after officials identified 278 there Monday. It was followed by Horry County with 165 and Greenville County with 153 newly identified cases.
Locally, Richland County had 80 new cases, and Lexington County had 73 announced Monday.
The four patients who died were elderly, and they came from Chesterfield, Richland, Anderson and Beaufort counties.
How are hospitals being impacted?
The number of coronavirus patients who are hospitalized has skyrocketed in the last few weeks. Over the weekend, more than 900 hospital beds were occupied by people diagnosed with or under investigation for the virus.
As of Monday, the number of COVID-19 patients occupying hospital beds grew to 1,032 of the 7,336 total occupied beds in the state.
Statewide, hospitals are at 69.8% capacity.
Locally, hospitals are faring even worse. About 72% of beds in Richland County were occupied, and about 75% of beds in Lexington County were in use.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said the state is ready to implement a plan to create new bed space if hospitals become overburdened. He added he may require medical facilities to postpone elective procedures again.
Are all cases accounted for?
DHEC has estimated that as many as 86% of South Carolinians with the coronavirus go undiagnosed or untested. On Monday, they estimated a total of 246,757 people have likely contracted the virus since March.
State health officials have also started to track what they consider to be probable cases or probable deaths.
A probable case is someone who has not received lab test results but has virus symptoms or a positive antibody test. A probable death is someone who has not gotten a lab test but whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death or a contributing factor.
On Monday, they said they are investigating a total of 98 probable cases and three probable deaths.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
South Carolina has seen record daily coronavirus case counts each day for the last three weeks, one indicator that the virus’ activity is increasing.
Last week, daily case counts ranged from 890 to 1,599, and the week before, they fell between 577 and 1,157.
State health officials also reported that the percentage of tests that turn up positive — another indicator of the coronavirus’ progression — has been rising over the last 28 days.
On Monday, officials reported that 15.5% of cases turned out positive. That number is similar to what health officials saw in March and early April. In May, at its lowest point, the percentage of positive tests fell between 2% and 4% on average.
Why are case numbers up?
DHEC officials say the surge in daily case counts comes because more people are leaving their homes and fewer are practicing social distancing and wearing masks.
Since April 20, the governor has gradually reopened businesses, including restaurants, retailers, beaches, gyms and salons.
Last week, McMaster announced the start of a new program that offers restaurant decals to show they are following precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DHEC.
But McMaster has repeatedly said he would not consider reclosing businesses or requiring South Carolinians to wear masks in response to the coronavirus case explosion.
In contrast to McMaster’s statements, state epidemiologist Linda Bell said last week that a statewide mask requirement could help to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Local officials have taken their own steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including in Columbia where masks are now required.
How is DHEC’s testing plan impacting case numbers?
Health officials said this week that the expansion of testing could be driving up the numbers. But it’s not the sole reason, they said.
“Doing testing doesn’t create new cases,” Bell said last week. “When we test, we’re finding cases that are already out there.”
COVID-19 testing has been relatively steady from May 10 to June 13, when labs across the state completed about 35,000 tests a week. From June 14 to June 20, labs completed about 44,300 tests.
Statewide, labs have completed a total of 408,394 tests since March.
If DHEC only counted one test per person, 400,000 tests would represent about 7.8% of South Carolinians.
State health officials plan to increase their testing in the coming months. Health officials plan to complete about 140,000 tests each month in July and August and reach 165,000 tests a month by the end of the year.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 3:47 PM.
