South Carolina adds 740 new coronavirus cases, nears 3,000 deaths
As health officials prepare to launch expanded COVID-19 testing opportunities in South Carolina, the state added 740 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control also recorded an additional 27 deaths related to COVID-19, pushing the state’s total to 2,992 since the pandemic first reached South Carolina in March. DHEC has recorded 132,565 confirmed positive cases of the virus as well.
There were 6,294 individual test results Wednesday, DHEC reported, putting the percentage of tests returning positive at 11.8%. That’s a decline from the state’s high points in July, when the percentage consistently topped 20%, but it is still above the 5% mark health experts, including DHEC state epidemiologist Linda Bell, have cited as a goal.
DHEC also announced Thursday that it would be hosting multiple free testing events at two sites in Columbia over the next few weeks in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Governor Henry McMaster’s office and the University of South Carolina. The agency had previously said a federal “surge testing team” was coming to the area to expand testing after the state’s testing numbers declined through August and early September.
The testing events, which are free of charge, will take place at Founders Park, the USC baseball stadium, and Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
At Founders Park, 431 Williams Street, the events will run:
▪ Saturday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
▪ Monday, Sept. 21-Friday, Sept. 25, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
▪ Sunday, Sept. 27-Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
At Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 2300 Greene Street, the events will run:
▪ Saturday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
▪ Monday, Sept. 21-Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Which counties were affected?
Richland County, where the testing surge will take place, saw the largest increase in new cases Thursday, with 95. Neighboring Lexington County added 36.
The following counties saw residents die after contracting COVID-19: Aiken (1), Beaufort (1), Cherokee (1), Chester (1), Chesterfield (1), Colleton (2), Florence (3), Georgetown (1), Greenwood (1), Marion (2), Marlboro (2), Newberry (1), Oconee (1), Orangeburg (2), Richland (1), Spartanburg (2), Sumter (1), Union (1) and York (2).
Of those who died, 23 were elderly, defined by DHEC as 65 years or older, while four were middle-aged, defined as between 35 and 64 years old.
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 when case counts were under 1,000.
The 7-day moving average of new cases rose again in late August and early September, but it has since begun to dip again, and there have now been 11 days in a row of fewer than 1,000 cases.
Ahead of the Labor Day weekend, DHEC and other health experts warned of a possible spike in cases as residents planned vacations to crowded beaches and students returned to schools. The state saw a similar increase in May after Memorial Day, going from about 100 to 300 cases per day to more than 1,000, and to a lesser extent in July after Independence Day, going from 1,600 to 1,900.
Such a spike wouldn’t show up in the data immediately, however, as patients may not develop symptoms for as many as two weeks.
State health officials have 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 have also said lower testing totals have played a role as well. After regularly reporting more than 10,000 tests a day in July, DHEC has not recorded that many throughout August and September and bottomed out at under 3,000 tests reported in a day on multiple occasions. Officials have said there has not been a reduction in testing opportunities or capacity, but demand has slowed as “testing fatigue” sets in.
To account for lower test totals, officials have highlighted the importance of percentage of tests run that come back positive. Nationally, about 8.5% of tests have turned up positive, according to the CDC.
In South Carolina, that percentage has been higher since March, at 15.4%, DHEC officials reported. In all, 1,179,715 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 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 Wednesday, state health officials reported 41 new probable cases and one new probable death. That puts the total number of probable cases at 2,881 and total probable deaths at 166.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Wednesday, the state reported 733 patients in South Carolina hospitals have the novel coronavirus, including 203 in intensive care and 123 on ventilators. The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at one time peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
In all, 76.79% of inpatient beds in S.C. hospitals are currently occupied, including 74.19% of ICU beds.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 5:46 PM.
