USC cases likely helped drive record-setting day for COVID-19 in Richland County
Health officials confirmed 1,019 new cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina on Sunday, and more than a third of them were reported in Richland County.
It is the second consecutive day that more than 1,000 new cases were reported in the state. Since March, the state has had 116,697 confirmed cases.
State health officials also reported 11 deaths, bringing the total to 2,574.
The number of coronavirus cases passed 25 million worldwide on Sunday.
Which counties were affected?
Richland County had the most new cases for the second day in a row after 396 cases were reported by the Department of Health and Environmental Control Sunday. There have been more than 600 new cases in the past two days.
The previous single-day high in confirmed new cases in Richland County was 228 on July 14. It was the fourth consecutive day there were more than 100 new cases in Richland County. The county had just two days of more than 100 new cases from Aug. 8-24.
The University of South Carolina resumed classes earlier this month. Between the first day of classes on Aug. 20 and Aug. 25, the number of new coronavirus cases at USC was 183. But on Wednesday an additional 191 people tested positive.
A DHEC spokesperson said cases at USC likely contributed to the increase in Richland County case numbers but until the cases are investigated, they couldn’t estimate how many of the cases are USC students.
As of Aug. 27, there were 557 active cases on campus, and 553 of them are students.
“Am I concerned? Yes, I am,” USC president Bob Caslen said on Aug. 27. “Is it acceptable? No. It’s not. I don’t know if you can sustain 191 positives.”
Lexington County had 52 new cases in Sunday’s report, according to DHEC.
Residents of the following counties died after contracting the virus: Dorchester (2), Florence, Charleston, Spartanburg, Hampton, Richland, Darlington, Orangeburg and Horry. All but one of the deaths were from elderly people 65 or older.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
The number of daily new cases reported in South Carolina hit a high of 2,343 on July 18.
In over a month since then, totals have slowly dropped, until a spike at the end of this week. DHEC is projecting 4,027 new cases over the next seven days.
State health officials said Tuesday that the virus’ progression has been slowing significantly in areas with face mask requirements and where residents are practicing social distancing.
State health officials continued to stress on the need for getting tested on Sunday. Currently, there are 238 mobile testing events scheduled through Oct. 17 and there are 223 permanent COVID-19 testing facilities across the state.
“DHEC continues to emphasize the importance of testing,“ Dr. Brannon Traxler said in a news release. “While many people with COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms, it is still possible that they could be infected and pass the disease to friends, family and loved ones. Meanwhile, others don’t know that they’ve been in close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) with someone with confirmed COVID-19. Therefore, we continue to provide no out-of-pocket costs community testing events open to anyone who would like to be tested.”
On Sunday, the positive percent was 21.5%, the highest in a month. In May, at its lowest point, the percentage of positive tests fell between 2% and 4% on average, while it previously peaked in July at consistently upward of 20%.
Nationally, about 9.1% of tests turn up positive, according to the CDC.
In all, 1,006,606 tests have been completed in South Carolina since March.
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimate that around 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus don’t get tested.
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 Sunday, state health officials reported 28 new probable cases and no new probable deaths. That brings the total number of probable cases up to 1,627 and total probable deaths to 135.
DHEC officials have said the recent slowdown in testing could mean that more people with the coronavirus have gone untested and undiagnosed.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Sunday, state health officials reported 956 patients in South Carolina hospitals have coronavirus, including 250 patients in intensive care and 143 patients on ventilators.
In all, 78.6 percent of in-patient beds are occupied in S.C. hospitals, including 1,052 of beds in intensive care units.
The number of coronavirus patients hospitalized at one time peaked at more than 1,700 on July 23, and the daily numbers have declined since.
Some data since late July was unavailable as DHEC transitioned its reporting system from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Department of Health and Human Services, as requested by the federal government. The agency said the new system will give more precise information about COVID-19-related hospital conditions.
This story was originally published August 30, 2020 at 1:24 PM.
