SC has more than 500 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row
S.C. health officials announced 525 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, and seven more people are confirmed to have died from the virus in the Palmetto State.
The latest figures pushed the total number of identified cases in South Carolina above 130,000. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has recorded 130,256 coronavirus cases since March, and 2,922 deaths.
Monday’s totals are based on 5,357 coronavirus tests recorded on Sunday, a drop from the number of tests recorded over the past few days. Monday was also the first day South Carolina adopted new reporting standards for tests adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
DHEC reports 9.8% of tests conducted Sunday were positive.
Which counties were affected?
Greenville County led the state in total cases with 81, including probable cases. Richland County came second with 60 cases, and Lexington County was the third highest with 33. The next highest case numbers were seen in Anderson (28), York (27), and Charleston and Horry counties (26 each).
Richland County has seen an uptick in cases recently, which coincides with the return of thousands of college students to the University of South Carolina and other campuses.
Florence County had two confirmed deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, while both Greenville and Anderson counties reported two probable COVID deaths each. Other confirmed deaths were each reported in Beaufort, Clarendon, Darlington, Marion and Richland counties. Edgefield, Greenwood and Marlboro counties each reported a probable coronavirus death as well.
One death in Florence and the deaths in Richland and Marlboro counties were individuals under the age of 65.
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. On Monday, there were 16 probable new cases and seven probable COVID-19-related 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 Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated how the CDC tracks reported cases of coronavirus. The CDC and DHEC are no longer counting positive antibody tests as a probable case, but are counting a positive antigen test from a respiratory specimen.
Also added is a “suspect case” category counting positive antibody tests or positive test results from autopsy specimens, although those totals were not included in Monday’s DHEC numbers.
How are hospitals being impacted?
Currently, 733 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in South Carolina, or 9.5% of all hospital patients in the state. Of those, 203 are in intensive care and 123 are on ventilators. Coronavirus patients make up a larger total of ICU patients, 27.7%, and 16.8% of ventilated patients.
Across the state, 77% of inpatient hospital beds are currently occupied, including 74% of ICU beds. Thirty percent of all of the state’s ventilators are currently in use.
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. Totals have trended down since then. At the end of August, the state went 13 straight days without recording 1,000 or more new cases in a day.
Last week, there was a stretch of five days with fewer than 750 new cases each. But on Friday and Saturday DHEC confirmed 951 and 827 new cases, respectively, before cases dropped to 515 on Sunday.
DHEC is projecting 6,469 cases over the next week.
State health officials credited the recent decline in part to a significant slowdown in virus activity in areas with face mask requirements and where residents are practicing social distancing.
But they also have said lower testing totals have played a role as well.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 3:19 PM.
.jpg)