South Carolina approaches 150,000 total coronavirus cases with two-week daily high
Health officials reported South Carolina’s highest daily coronavirus case count in two weeks Thursday, pushing the state near the edge of 150,000 total cases of COVID-19.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 859 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 12 additional confirmed deaths. Since the global pandemic first reached the Palmetto State in March, DHEC has recorded 149,219 confirmed cases and 3,311 deaths.
Thursday’s case count, while the highest the state has seen thus far in October, also marks four weeks since DHEC has recorded more than 1,000 cases in a single day. South Carolina recorded its first 1,000-case day in mid-June and consistently exceeded that throughout the summer.
Health officials also recorded 7,247 individual test results Thursday, putting the percentage of individuals testing positive at 11.8%. The average rate of positive tests has declined from the state’s high points in July, when it consistently topped 20%, but it is still well above the 5% mark health experts, including DHEC state epidemiologist Linda Bell, have cited as a goal.
Officials are now recommending anyone who is “out and about” in the community or not able to wear a facial covering and practice social distancing be tested at least once a month, in order to track and curb the spread of asymptomatic cases.
Which counties were affected?
Greenville County reported the largest increase in new cases Thursday, adding 97 to its total, followed by Horry County with 89.
In the Midlands, Richland County added 67 new cases, while neighboring Lexington County added 60.
Residents of the following counties died after contracting COVID-19: Anderson (1), Beaufort (1), Darlington (1), Dillon (1), Horry (1), Lancaster (1), Laurens (1), Lexington (2), Sumter (1) and York (1)
Three of the individuals who died were middle-aged, defined by DHEC as being between 35 and 64 yards old, with the remaining nine all being elderly, defined as 65 years old and up.
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 seven-day moving average of new cases rose again slightly in late August and early September, but it has dipped again and stayed relatively flat since at around 750 to 800.
State health officials credited the decline in cases since July in part to a significant slowdown in virus activity in areas with face mask requirements and where residents are practicing social distancing. In particular, DHEC data showed that the areas that implemented mask ordinances the earliest have seen the largest overall declines.
But health officials 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 did not record that many throughout August and September.
Officials have said there has not been a reduction in testing 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. The seven-day moving average of that percentage in South Carolina rose to nearly 20% in early September but has declined to under 15% recently.
Nationally, about 8.2% of tests have turned up positive, according to the CDC. In South Carolina, that percentage has been higher since March, at 14.5%. In all, 1,563,307 tests have been completed in the state since March.
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimated in the past that around 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus don’t get tested, and global experts have said official case counts have likely under-counted the number of cases.
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 Thursday, state health officials reported 61 new probable cases and no new probable deaths. That puts the total number of probable cases at 5,536 and total probable deaths at 203.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Thursday, the state reported 716 patients in South Carolina hospitals have the novel coronavirus, including 191 in intensive care and 94 on ventilators. The number of patients hospitalized at one time peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
In all, 82.56% of inpatient beds in S.C. hospitals are currently occupied, including 76.21% of ICU beds.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 2:28 PM.
