SC health officials announce almost 1,500 new COVID-19 cases and more deaths
South Carolina state health officials announced Saturday that 1,481 more people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases the state has seen since March to 67,396.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also reported that 39 more people had died after contracting COVID-19, one of the highest reported number of deaths since the pandemic began. That brings the death toll to 1,117.
Saturday cases may be lower though as DHEC reported that its “data report contained incomplete laboratory information.”
“There is a data synchronization error between DHEC and a major private laboratory that we are working to rectify. Once resolved, additional information for (Saturday) will be included and highlighted in tomorrow’s release,” the agency said.
On Thursday, the state surpassed 1,000 coronavirus related deaths after officials announced they had identified 69 new deaths, a single-day record, although the number included some deaths from previous weeks.
The number of people hospitalized with coronavirus was not announced as DHEC changes how it reports on hospitalizations at the federal government’s request, the agency said.
Which counties were affected?
Greenville County saw the most people testing positive for COVID-19 with 187.
In Richland County, 162 tested positive for the virus, while in Lexington County 161 did.
Charleston County, which has regularly had over 200 new cases daily, reported 122 new cases Saturday.
The deaths occurred in 33 elderly people and 6 middle aged people, DHEC said.
The following counties saw residents die: Aiken (1), Berkeley (3), Charleston (6), Cherokee (1), Chester (1), Chesterfield (1), Colleton (2), Darlington (1), Dillon (1), Dorchester (3), Florence (3), Greenville (5), Horry (3), Laurens (1), Lee (1), Marion (1), Orangeburg (1), Richland (1), Saluda (1), Spartanburg (1) and Sumter (1).
Are all cases accounted for?
DHEC estimates that about 86% of South Carolinians who contract COVID-19 don’t get tested. That means, as of Saturday, 481,421 people have likely contracted the coronavirus since March.
State health officials have also started to track what officials 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 Saturday, health officials announced two new probable cases and no new probable deaths.
How are hospitals being impacted?
On Saturday, DHEC did not report information on hospitalizations, hospital bed use, or people who are on ventilators and gave this statement:
“At the federal government’s request, DHEC is transitioning from the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) COVID-19 module to TeleTracking’s U.S. Healthcare COVID-19 Portal for monitoring hospital bed occupancy data. Once TeleTracking has sufficient participation and accuracy, DHEC will report from it. There may be incomplete data with significant gaps over the next few days.”
South Carolina has seen a record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients nearly ever day in July.
On Friday, 1,593 of 7,889 occupied beds were being used by people diagnosed with COVID-19 or who are thought to have it. That means about 20% of beds in use are being occupied by coronavirus patients. According to DHEC, 214 of those patients were on ventilators.
Four weeks ago, on June 19, state health officials reported that 660 beds were being used by coronavirus patients.
Across the state, about 72% of hospital beds were in use as of Friday.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has 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. On Thursday, officials with the S.C. Emergency Management Division said the state had not reached that point.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
South Carolina has seen record daily coronavirus case counts since June. In the last week, the state set records for the number of new cases.
New cases announced in the last three weeks accounted for nearly 50% of all cases the state has seen since March.
Last week, daily case counts ranged from 934 to 2,239. The week before, they fell between 1,319 and 1,885.
DHEC officials also noted that the percentage of tests that turn up positive — another indicator of the coronavirus’ spread — has been rising over the last 28 days.
Officials reported that 21.0% of tests reported Saturday were positive, one of the highest positive percents since the outbreak started. That number is higher than 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.
Nationally, about 8.7% of tests turn up positive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In all, 610,429 tests have been completed since March.
Why are case numbers up?
DHEC officials say case counts are surging because more people are leaving their homes as businesses reopen. Fewer people are practicing social distancing and wearing masks, they said.
McMaster has gradually reopened businesses since April 20, including restaurants, retailers, beaches, gyms and salons. McMaster has repeatedly said he would not consider closing businesses again or requiring South Carolinians to wear masks in response to the coronavirus case explosion.
In contrast to McMaster’s statements, state epidemiologist Linda Bell has said 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.
This story was originally published July 18, 2020 at 2:45 PM.