Coronavirus
More than 1,100 new cases of COVID-19, and 27 deaths confirmed in South Carolina
State health officials reported 1,110 more COVID-19 cases in South Carolina on Sunday.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Carolina to 91,257.
S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also reported 27 more people died in South Carolina after contracting the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,709.
Which counties were affected?
Charleston County led the state with the most people testing positive. Health officials confirmed 122 new coronavirus cases in the county, where DHEC said 11,579 people have tested positive — the most in the state.
In the Midlands, Richland County had 91 new cases and Lexington County had 70.
Health officials said 24 of the confirmed deaths occurred in elderly individuals (65 or older), with five in Richland County, three in Charleston, Spartanburg and Lexington counties, two in Beaufort and Florence counties and single deaths in Saluda, Anderson, Berkeley, Calhoun, Greenville and Horry counties.
There were two deaths of middle-age people (35-64 years old) in Richland County and one in Dorchester County.
Since March, DHEC has reported 138 coronavirus-related deaths in Richland County, third most in the state behind Greenville (180) and Charleston (160) counties.
Are all cases accounted for?
DHEC officials estimate that as many as 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus don’t get tested. As of Sunday, health officials estimated there are 651,836 possible cases of COVID-19 since March.
DHEC officials have also begun investigating what they call probable cases and 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 Sunday, the state identified one new probable case and no new probable deaths.
In all, DHEC is investigating 531 probable cases and 68 probable deaths.
How are hospitals being impacted?
South Carolina saw a record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients nearly every day in July.
Of the 1,427 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of the coronavirus, 365 are in intensive care and, of those, 230 are on ventilators, state health officials said.
According to health officials, 320 of the state’s 1,440 ICU beds are available and about 1,124 or 77.84% of ICU beds are in use.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has said the state is ready to create new bed space if hospitals become overburdened. He added he may require medical facilities to postpone elective procedures again.
In Orangeburg County, the S.C. National Guard was called to build overflow tents for treating coronavirus patients when necessary. The tents will open in two or three weeks, according to media reports.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
South Carolina has seen an increase in its coronavirus case counts since June.
New cases announced in the last four weeks accounted for nearly 50% of all cases since March. Last week, daily case counts ranged from 1,191 to 1,737. Since the week of June 28-July 4, there have been at least more than 11,000 cases per week with 13,282 coming between July 12-18.
SC health officials are projecting 11,986 cases for this week.
The percentage of tests that turn up positive — another indicator of the coronavirus’ spread — has been high, hovering around 20% daily for the last 14 days with a high of 22.6% on July 22.
On Sunday, health officials said the percentage positive was 15.2%.
Nationally, about 8.7% of tests turn up positive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In all, 777,287 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. On Wednesday, he opened the remaining closed businesses while putting in place a limited statewide mask rule.
Local officials have taken their own steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including in Columbia and Richland County where masks are now required.
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