More than 600 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths confirmed in South Carolina
There were 603 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 more coronavirus-related deaths confirmed in South Carolina on Sunday, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina to 122,944, and confirmed deaths to 2,748, health officials said.
Of the 4,774 tests conducted Saturday, the percent positive was 12.6%, according to DHEC.
Health officials said 1,066,496 tests have been conducted in the state since March.
Which counties were affected?
Richland County continues to have the most new cases as college students return to the University of South Carolina and other campuses. Health officials said Richland County led the state with 66 new cases Sunday, one more than reported in Greenville County.
Since testing began in March, 12,243 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Richland County, where 195 COVID-19 deaths have been reported by DHEC.
As of Thursday, 1,706 USC students and an additional 29 university employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those cases, 1,443 remain active for students, while 18 are for employees, officials said.
Lexington County had 32 new confirmed cases, according to DHEC.
Three of the deaths reported Sunday were in Florence County, where two middle age (35-64 years old) and one elderly (65 and older) person died from the coronavirus, according to DHEC.
Health officials said elderly COVID-19 patients in Lexington, Newberry, Dorchester and Spartanburg counties died. Coroanvirus-related deaths were reported among middle-age people in Kershaw, Aiken and Orangeburg counties.
All of the deaths occurred on either Friday or Saturday, officials reported.
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 a lab test result 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 six new probable cases and no new probable deaths. That brings the total number of probable cases up to 2,008 and total probable deaths to 139.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Sunday, health officials reported 787 patients in South Carolina hospitals have coronavirus, including 208 patients in intensive care and 129 patients on ventilators.
In all, 7,794 of 10,067 in-patient beds were occupied in S.C. hospitals, according to DHEC, including 1,091 of 1,454 ICU beds.
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 the month after, totals slowly dropped, including a stretch of 13 days in a row under 1,000 toward the end of August.
On Friday, there were 1,511 new cases, which was the highest since July 31.
Ahead of the Labor Day weekend, however, health experts have warned of a possible spike in cases as residents take vacations to crowded beaches and students return to schools.
State officials predict 5,765 new cases for the state in the coming week.
State health officials have said that the virus’ progression has been slowing significantly in areas with face mask requirements and where residents are practicing social distancing.
The drop in case numbers can also be attributed in part to labs performing fewer tests, DHEC officials have said. In order to account for that possibility, officials have highlighted the importance of percentage of tests run that come back positive.
Nationally, about 9.1% of tests turn up positive, according to the CDC.
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 12:03 PM.
