Coronavirus
DHEC announces high death count but lower new COVID-19 cases than previous week
South Carolina health officials announced a record number of deaths from the coronavirus Saturday with the Department of Health and Environmental Control discovering 74 more people died after contracting COVID-19.
The department also announced that 1,368 more people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases identified since March to 79,674.
Saturday marked a decease in the number of new cases as the state had more than 1,400 new cases a day for 17 days straight.
“Please wear a mask. Stay away from the group gatherings and do the social distancing. “ DHEC’s Dr. Brannon Traxler said during a briefing with reporters. ”Please, help take care of each other because we’re truly all in this together.”
Since the first positive case was identified in the state, 1,412 South Carolinians have died from confirmed infections.
No new cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, a complication associated with the coronavirus, were announced. In all, five South Carolinia children have developed this syndrome.
Traxler asked parents to remain vigilant for symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, bloodshot eyes, vomiting or diarrhea.
Which counties were affected?
Charleston County saw the largest increase in cases with 143 Saturday.
Greenville County had 126 new cases.
In the Midlands, Richland County had 105 people test positive for COVID-19, and Lexington County had 69.
Residents from the following counties were reported dead: Abbeville (2), Aiken (2), Anderson (3), Bamberg (1), Beaufort (1), Berkeley (6), Charleston (12), Cherokee (4), Chester (1), Chesterfield (1), Clarendon (1), Darlington (3), Dorchester (3), Edgefield (1), Florence (4), Georgetown (2), Greenville (2), Hampton (2), Horry (2), Jasper (1), Kershaw (2), Laurens (2), Lexington (5), Oconee (1), Orangeburg (1), Richland (3), Spartanburg (3), Sumter (2), York (5)
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimate that as much as 86% of people who contract the coronavirus don’t get tested. As of Saturday, DHEC estimated that 569,100 people have actually contracted COVID-19 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, DHEC identified 12 new probable cases and eight new probable deaths.
In all, DHEC is investigating 334 probable cases and 53 probable deaths.
How are hospitals being impacted?
South Carolina has seen record numbers of hospitalized coronavirus patients nearly every day in July.
On Saturday, DHEC did not announce information on hospitalization, saying that hospitals are transitioning to a new federal reporting system and that “DHEC is aware that the information currently provided by hospitals through the new system has inaccuracies.”
When the inaccuracies are cleared up, DHEC will again be providing hospitalization numbers, it said.
As of Friday, 1,668 of 8,654 occupied hospital beds in South Carolina were being used by people diagnosed with COVID-19 or who are thought to have it. That means that 19% of occupied beds are being used by coronavirus patients.
In all, 263 of those patients are on ventilators.
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. Officials with the S.C. Emergency Management Division have said the state had not reached that point.
But in Orangeburg County, the S.C. National Guard was called on to build overflow tents to hold coronavirus patients.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
South Carolina has seen record daily coronavirus case counts since June.
New cases announced in the last three weeks accounted for nearly 50% of all cases since March.
Last week, daily case counts ranged from 1,481 to 2,295. The week before, they fell between 934 to 2,239.
DHEC officials also noted that the percentage of positive tests — another indicator of the coronavirus’ spread — has been rising over the last 28 days.
Officials reported that 19% of tests reported Saturday were positive. 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, 690,650 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. He 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.
How are deaths trending?
Upward.
Saturday’s announcement of 74 deaths tops the previous high of 56 deaths announced July 21.
Deaths reported to DHEC officials each day are delayed to insure accuracy, so each day’s release of death numbers results in cases being added to the state’s daily death counts for previous days. For example, the 74 confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported Saturday dated from June 20 to July 24.
Regardless, the state has seen an increase in deaths starting in late June.
On its deadliest days, July 13 and July 20, the coronavirus took the lives of 38 South Carolinians each day.
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