SC sets record for new daily COVID-19 cases with more than 1,800, health agency says
The surge of coronavirus cases continued Saturday with more than 1,800 people testing positive for the virus, South Carolina’s health agency reported - a number that set a new record for cases discovered in a day.
The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 1,836 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing South Carolina’s total ahead of the long weekend to 43,260 — roughly 29,000 of which were logged by the agency after June 1.
The previous high mark for new daily cases was 1,741, which was set June 30.
Officials also reported an additional 19 South Carolinians have died as a result of the virus, putting the state’s death toll at 806.
Health officials this week said the virus’ spread is hurting DHEC’s ability to conduct contact tracing, which allows health officials to pinpoint where a spread starts and further curb the outbreak. But with daily case counts soaring beyond 1,000 each day, state epidemiologist Linda Bell said Wednesday contact tracers will not be as effective, meaning the burden falls on South Carolinians.
“We must get these escalating numbers under much better control, and to do that, each of us must make an intentional effort,” Bell said on Wednesday. “An unselfish decision on each of our parts is needed to protect others from this virus through wearing masks and practicing social distancing.”
With most South Carolinians having a holiday weekend, state leaders are asking people to stay home.
WHICH COUNTIES WERE AFFECTED?
New cases continue to rise in Horry County with 358 announced on Saturday. It was the first time that county had more than 300 new cases in a day.
Charleston County reported 345 new confirmed cases.
Greenville County also saw a jump in new cases with 199.
And in the Midlands, Richland and Lexington counties logged 141 and 38 new cases, respectively.
Of the 19 deaths reported by DHEC on Saturday, 13 were described as elderly individuals and six were middle-aged. The deaths occurred in Berkeley, Charleston, Chester, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Laurens, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Spartanburg and Sumter counties.
HOW ARE HOSPITALS BEING IMPACTED?
The state’s health agency reported another daily high of hospitalizations due to the virus on Saturday.
DHEC reported 1,190 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Overall, 7,648 beds are in use, which is about 71% of all hospital beds in South Carolina.
South Carolina first surpassed 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients on Monday.
Should the state run out of available beds, Gov. Henry McMaster last month said the state is ready to implement an expanded hospital plan that will open up more bed space. He said he may require hospitals to postpone elective procedures.
ARE ALL CASES ACCOUNTED FOR?
State health officials have said the actual number of conronavirus cases in South Carolina is likely much higher than what’s known.
South Carolina’s health department estimates that almost 309,000 cases exist as of Saturday, the first time the estimate has broken 300,000.
Since last month, DHEC now tracks what officials consider probable cases or probable deaths.
A probable case is a person who has not received lab test results but has virus symptoms or a positive antibody test. A probable death is a person who has not gotten a lab test but whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death or as a contributing factor.
On Saturday, the department reported three probable cases and one probable death.
HOW IS COVID-19 TRENDING IN SC?
The percent of positive tests continues to be higher than the percentage in May with Saturday’s results confirming that almost 20 percent of the people tested have the virus. At the lowest point, the percent of positive case was 2% to 4%.
Health officials have noted that since Memorial Day weekend in May, positive case numbers have continued to increase.
Last month, daily case counts ranged from more than 500 early on to a record daily high of more than 1,700 at June’s end.
In May, the state never had more than 400 cases in a single day.
Another indicator of the virus’ spread is the percentage of COVID-19 tests reporting back as positive, health officials have said.
WHY ARE CASE NUMBERS UP?
It goes beyond simply the expansion of COVID-19 testing statewide, health officials say.
Since March, labs statewide have completed more than 450,000 tests. A person can have multiple tests, but 450,000 would represent about 8% of all South Carolinians.
In the coming months, the health department plans to continue increasing testing to about 140,000 tests in both July and August and 165,000 tests a month by the new year.
“Doing testing doesn’t create new cases,” DHEC’s Bell said last week. “When we test, we’re finding cases that are already out there.”
Health officials say not enough South Carolinians are implementing safety measures into their daily lives that include social distancing, avoiding large crowds and wearing face masks. Several counties and cities, including Columbia, Richland County and the town of Lexington, now enforce face masks requirements.
DHEC and hospitals are seeing a large surge in the number of younger adults testing positive.
This week, the health agency reported a 966% increase in those ages 11 to 20 and a 413% increase in people ages 21 to 30 testing positive for COVID-19.
McMaster has said he will not set a statewide mask ordinance -vdespite urging people to wear one - calling it impossible to enforce.
Since April, McMaster has gradually allowed businesses to reopen, including restaurants, beaches, gyms and salons.
McMaster told reporters last month he has no plans to impose more restrictions on businesses. But he did stress that should cases continue to skyrocket in South Carolina, fall sports, including college football, could be canceled.
This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 12:38 PM with the headline "SC sets record for new daily COVID-19 cases with more than 1,800, health agency says."