DHEC reports 629 new coronavirus cases, 14 more deaths in South Carolina
South Carolina health officials reported an increase of 629 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, along with 14 new confirmed deaths.
The latest figures continue a stretch of fewer than 1,000 new cases reported every day since Sept. 10, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Since the start of October, the state has also not had fewer than 500 new cases in a day.
Since the first case of the novel virus in South Carolina was reported in March, DHEC has now recorded 152,963 confirmed cases of the virus and 3,371 deaths.
A total of 1,665,741 tests have now been performed in the state since March. Out of 6,149 test results reported Tuesday, 10.2% came back positive.
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 that 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?
Horry County led the state in new cases Tuesday, adding 85 to its total. Greenville County had the second largest jump, adding 78. In the Midlands, Richland County reported 52 new cases, while neighboring Lexington County had 38.
The deaths reported Tuesday occurred among individuals from Anderson (2), Chesterfield (1), Colleton (1), Darlington (1), Greenville (2), Horry (1), Lexington (1), Marion (1), Newberry (1) and Richland (3) counties.
Eight of those who died were elderly, defined by DHEC as 65 years or older. Five others were middle aged, defined as between the ages of 35 and 64, and the individual from Colleton County was a young adult, defined as between 18 to 34 years old.
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 Monday, health officials reported 66 new probable cases and three new probable deaths from COVID-19. That puts the total number of probable cases at 5,920 and total probable deaths at 205.
How are hospitals being impacted?
On Tuesday, 745 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus-related symptoms, or 9.25% of all patients currently in the hospital. The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at one time in the state peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
Some have more serious conditions than others; 201 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, and 90 are on ventilators.
Health officials said COVID-19 can cause mild to severe illness. Older adults and people who have serious underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and/or chronic lung diseases, are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, according to DHEC.
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. Since then, the seven-day moving average of daily new cases has declined to 835.
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 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 11% recently.
Nationally, about 7.7% of tests have turned up positive, according to the CDC.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
