SC sees fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for fourth day in a row, reports 35 deaths
South Carolina health officials announced Thursday that 907 more Palmetto State residents have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the fourth day in a row the daily case count has fallen below 1,000.
That brings the total number of cases confirmed since March up to 103,051.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also reported that 35 more people have died after contracting the virus, bringing the statewide death toll up to 2,089.
DHEC officials did not hold a briefing with reporters Thursday.
Which counties were affected?
Across the state, Richland County saw the largest increase in daily confirmed cases Thursday with 91. Neighboring Lexington County saw just 22 new confirmed cases.
The following counties saw residents die after contracting COVID-19: Allendale (1), Anderson (3), Bamberg (1), Barnwell (1), Beaufort (1), Charleston (3), Clarendon (1), Darlington (2), Dorchester (1), Florence (3), Georgetown (1), Greenville (1), Horry (5), Lancaster (1), Laurens (1), Lexington (1), Marion (1), Newberry (1), Oconee (1), Richland (1) and Spartanburg (2).
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimate that up to 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus don’t get tested. As of Thursday, they estimated that 736,079 people in all have likely contracted COVID-19 since March.
DHEC has also been recording 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 Thursday, state health officials reported 27 new probable cases and 11 new probable deaths. That brings the total number of probable cases up to 858 and total probable deaths to 97.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
South Carolina has seen more than 1,000 new cases reported nearly every day since June 24, though cases have fallen below 1,000 in recent days. New cases announced in the last four weeks accounted for nearly 44% of all cases since March. Last week, daily case counts ranged from 1,105 to 1,295, a decline from the previous week, when the daily case count ranged from 1,170 to 1,666.
State health officials said Friday that the virus’ progression is slowing thanks to local mask mandates and residents practicing social distancing and wearing masks. Cases have been slowly decreasing over the last seven days.
The percentage of COVID-19 tests that turn up positive each day — another indicator of the coronavirus’ spread — has recently lowered from around 20% daily to about 18% on average.
On Thursday, 15.7% of tests reported were positive, similar to what health officials saw in March and early April and higher than what the percent positive has been in recent days. 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, and the World Health Organization suggests that the percent of positive tests should be below 5% before countries consider reopening.
In all, 864,186 tests have been completed since March. Testing has slowed over the last week, from about 12,500 tests reported August 7 to about 3,900 tests reported Wednesday.
How are deaths trending?
Deaths reported to DHEC officials each day are delayed, 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 35 confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported Wednesday dated as far back as April 3.
Regardless, the state has seen an increase in deaths starting in late June. Changes in the number of deaths tend to lag behind changes in the number of cases, according to DHEC. So, if cases begin to decrease, it will be a few weeks before deaths follow suit.
On its deadliest day, around July 20, the coronavirus took the lives of 54 South Carolinians.
How are hospitals being impacted?
Starting in late June, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients has steadily increased.
Of the 1,322 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of the coronavirus, 323 are in intensive care and, of those, 201 are on ventilators, state health officials said Thursday.
Across the state, 1,818 of 10,382 total hospital beds are available, meaning 82% of beds are in use.
The number of coronavirus patients hospitalized at one time peaked at more than 1,700 on July 23, and the state has seen small decreases in those daily numbers since. Some data since late July was unavailable, though, because DHEC is transitioning to a new tracking system, which would give more precise information about COVID-19-related hospital conditions.
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.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 2:42 PM.
