SC DHEC reports 2,260 new COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths on Christmas Eve
South Carolina health leaders are preparing for what is likely to be a post-Christmas COVID-19 surge in the state, as positive case counts continue to rise daily and more than 1,700 people remain hospitalized with the virus.
On Thursday, the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 2,260 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths.
DHEC has logged more than 3,000 cases four times and at least 2,000 daily cases for more than 20 days in December alone.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in March, the state has documented 263,392 COVID-19 cases and 4,662 deaths.
South Carolina’s health agency also counted an additional 21,636 cases, including 96 Thursday as probable positives, and an additional 381 deaths, including four Thursday, as probable COVID-19 deaths.
DHEC defines a probable case as someone who has had a positive antigen test or has virus symptoms and is at high risk for infection. Probable deaths are ones where the death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause of or a contributing factor to death, but the person was not tested for the virus.
Many South Carolinians still remain hospitalized.
The day before Christmas, 1,766 South Carolinians are hospitalized with COVID-19, making up nearly 20.4% of inpatients statewide.
State health officials said 22.1% of the 10,218 tests reported Thursday came back positive.
Elevated percent positive rates indicate more people are likely to be infected with COVID-19 in the community who have not yet been tested and that testing may need to be ramped up. The World Health Organization earlier this year advised governments not to reopen until percent positive rates were at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
Nearly 43,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in South Carolina last week, with the state expecting more than 30,000 doses this week, according to DHEC. As of Tuesday, roughly 20,000 South Carolinians, mostly frontline health care workers, had received the first round of doses, the agency said.
Residents and staff of long-term care facilities, who are being vaccinated exclusively with the Moderna vaccine, should start receiving their first doses next week, according to DHEC. Others who are at increased risk of contracting the virus or are at high risk of experiencing severe complications from it will be prioritized for vaccination over the next several months.
In the meantime, state health officials have advised South Carolinians to continue taking measures to mitigate spread of COVID-19 such as wearing masks, avoiding group gatherings and practicing physical distancing.
DHEC urges anyone who is symptomatic or who has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to get tested themselves, and recommends routine monthly testing for anyone who is out and about in the community, even if they are asymptomatic.
To find a testing location near you, visit DHEC’s website at scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations.
How are hospitals being impacted?
The day before Christmas, 1,766 South Carolinians remain hospitalized with COVID-19.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19 Thursday, 365 patients were in intensive care units and 177 were on ventilators, both higher than the previous day.
Earlier in the week, five Upstate health centers reported that their ICUs were stretched almost to capacity, urged people to wear masks, socially distance and avoid gatherings. A Prisma Health physician said Monday that the number of COVID-19 patients at their four Midlands hospitals had risen about 50% since Thanksgiving, but that they still had adequate capacity and resources.
Total hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy remains steady at nearly 80%, with 79.2% of the state’s hospital beds and 78.6% of its ICU beds occupied.
In Richland County, 74.5% of hospital beds are occupied Thursday, and in Lexington County, 88.5% of beds are taken, data show.
Which counties were affected?
The Upstate continues to outpace all other South Carolina regions with high COVID-19 case counts.
On Thursday, Greenville again led all counties with 319 new COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg County with 217 new cases and the second-highest in the state, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are below the Upstate’s numbers, but also have surged in recent weeks.
Richland had 148 new cases, followed by Lexington with 141, York with 140 and Aiken had 39 new cases Thursday.
The number of positive tests in the state’s Pee Dee region is below the Upstate and the Midlands, but is rising, showing Florence with 92 new cases and Horry with 142 new virus cases Thursday.
In the Lowcountry, Charleston had 48 new COVID-19 cases and Beaufort had 76 new cases Thursday.
Of the 11 confirmed deaths reported Thursday, 10 were reported in elderly South Carolinians (65 and older) and one was middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC.
South Carolinians of all ages have died after contracting COVID-19, but the disease has taken the greatest toll on elderly residents.
The average age of all South Carolinians who have died from coronavirus complications is 75, and the vast majority of those who died — 87% — were over 60, data show.
The total deaths — confirmed and probable — reported Thursday by DHEC included one person in each Aiken, Anderson, Barnwell, Berkeley and Darlington counties. The health department also reported two deaths in Florence County and one person each in Greenville, Lancaster, Marion, Marlboro, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg and York counties.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Though the majority of South Carolinians do recover from COVID-19 after their diagnosis, the state’s daily case rates are still up almost 96% in the past month and are currently the highest they’ve ever been.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have topped 1,000 statewide for the past three weeks, according to DHEC.
And the number of people being tested across the state has shot up over the past 30 days, with an average of 222 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last month, a 40% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of almost 20% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, more than 3.4 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published December 24, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
