SC nears 160,000 total coronavirus cases, 3,500 deaths since start of pandemic
Less than two weeks after surpassing 150,000 total cases of COVID-19, South Carolina is on the verge of adding 10,000 more.
Officials with the Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 686 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus Wednesday, putting the state’s total at 159,433 since the first cases of the pandemic were recorded in S.C. in March.
Officials also reported 11 more confirmed deaths in individuals with the virus Wednesday, putting the state’s death toll at 3,487.
Wednesday’s case count comes along with 5,787 individual test results, putting the percentage of positive tests at 11.9%. A total of 1,796,682 tests have now been performed in the state since March.
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.
“We continue to have relatively higher levels of disease transmission in our community. Recently, we have seen a slight downward trend in cases, and we’ve seen a bit of a plateau,” Bell said during a conference call with reporters Friday. “But at the same time, we continue to see a percent positive in the population that is much higher than we’d like to see, and the consequences of ongoing disease transmission are that individuals will become sick. Many of those individuals will require hospitalization.”
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 led the state in new cases on Wednesday, adding 82 to its total. In the Midlands, Richland County reported 59 new cases, while neighboring Lexington County had 43.
The deaths reported Wednesday occurred among individuals from Anderson (1), Barnwell (1), Dillon (1), Georgetown (1), Horry (1), Lexington (1), Marion (2), Richland (2) and Spartanburg (1).
Two of those who died were middle aged, defined by DHEC as between 35 and 64 years old. The remaining nine were elderly, defined as 65 years or older.
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimated in the past that around 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus didn’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 Wednesday, health officials reported 86 new probable cases and one new probable death from COVID-19. That puts the total number of probable cases at 6,924 and total probable deaths at 221.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Wednesday, DHEC reported that 743 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus-related symptoms, or 8.77% 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; 197 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, and 98 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, followed by a steady decline. The seven-day moving average of daily new cases declined to under 1,000 in early September and has stayed between 700 and 925 since.
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 has not recorded that many in months.
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 declined to under 10% by the end of the month. Since then, it has ranged between 10% and 14%.
Nationally, between 7 and 8% of tests have turned up positive, according to the CDC.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
