SC adds more than 750 new COVID-19 cases, 19 more deaths
South Carolina health officials reported another 755 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, as the state’s rate of cases continues to rise over the past month.
Tuesday’s case count marks the fifth time in the last six days officials from the Department of Health and Environmental Control have reported more than 750 new cases of the novel coronavirus, and the state’s seven-day rolling average of new cases is now just under 1,000, a mark it hasn’t passed since early September.
State health officials also recorded 19 more confirmed deaths related to the virus Tuesday. Since the first cases were identified in South Carolina in March, officials have reported 164,802 cases and 3,602 deaths.
DHEC’s Tuesday report also included 5,770 individual test results, putting the percentage of positive tests at 13.1%. A total of 1,924,717 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, and it has risen over the past 30 days.
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 Tuesday with 106. In the Midlands, Richland County reported 66 new cases, second most in the state, while neighboring Lexington County had 45.
The deaths reported Tuesday occurred among individuals from Anderson (3), Beaufort (1), Charleston (1), Chesterfield (3), Fairfield (1), Florence (2), Greenville (2), Lancaster (1), Lexington (2), Newberry (1), Orangeburg (1) and Pickens (1)
All of those who died were elderly, defined by DHEC as 65 years or older.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
This past Friday, DHEC launched a new dashboard aimed at giving residents a quick look at how seven sets of data related to the pandemic are trending in South Carolina:
- Rate of cases per 100,000
- Rate of tests per 100,000
- Percentage of positive tests
- Deaths by date
- Hospitalizations
- ICU hospitalizations
- COVID-19 patients
As of Tuesday, the rate of cases, the percentage of positive tests and the number of hospitalizations have trended upward over the previous 30 days.
None of these metrics have hit the highs the state saw in July, when the number of daily new cases reported hit a high of 2,343 on July 18, the seven-day moving average of the percentage of positive tests peaked at 21.2% on July 14 and the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 1,723 on July 23.
The rate of testing, meanwhile, has inched only slightly upwards as of late and has declined from its highs in the middle of the summer, when DHEC was reporting more than 10,000 tests per day.
Officials have said there has not been a reduction in testing capacity, but demand has slowed as “testing fatigue” sets in.
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 Tuesday, health officials reported 81 new probable cases and four new probable deaths from COVID-19. That puts the total number of probable cases at 7,777 and total probable deaths at 240.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Tuesday, DHEC reported that 746 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus-related symptoms, or 9.18% 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; 188 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, and 93 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.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
