South Carolina records 647 new COVID-19 cases, fewest tests in a month
South Carolina added 647 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 to its total Wednesday, as state health officials also reported the fewest individual test results in a month.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also announced 16 more confirmed deaths related to the novel coronavirus. Since the first cases of the virus were identified in South Carolina in March, officials have reported 171,642 confirmed cases and 3,728 deaths.
DHEC also reported 4,459 individual test results on Wednesday, the fewest since Oct. 2. It also marks just the fourth time since the start of October that fewer than 5,000 individual test results have been reported in a single day.
The percentage of positive tests Wednesday stood at 14.5%. It has been more than two weeks since DHEC has reported a percentage positive under 10%, a level that officials such as state epidemiologist Linda Bell have previously said indicates continued disease spread in the community.
The average rate of positive tests topped 20% in parts of July and has declined since, but it is still well above the 5% mark that health experts have cited as a goal for safely reopening.
A total of 2,067,352 tests have now been performed in the state since March. 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 and are urging residents to take advantage of free testing sites throughout the state.
Which counties were affected?
More than one out of every five new cases reported Wednesday came out of Greenville County, which has seen a surge in new cases over the past few weeks. The state’s most populous county added 131 new cases to its total
In the Midlands, Richland County had the second largest increase of the day, with 63 new cases. Neighboring Lexington County added 49.
The deaths reported Wednesday occurred among individuals from Aiken (1), Chester (2), Chesterfield (2), Clarendon (1), Greenville (4) Horry (1), Kershaw (1), Laurens (1), Marlboro (1), Newberry (1), Richland (1), Spartanburg (1), Sumter (1) and York (1).
DHEC reported that the individual who died in Horry County was middle aged, defined as being between 35 and 64 years old. The rest were all elderly, defined by DHEC as 65 years old and up.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
While parts of the country have hit a “third wave” of infections higher than the peaks seen in the spring and summer, South Carolina has thus far not seen several of its key metrics hit the highs reached in July — the number of daily new cases reported hit a peak of 2,343 on July 18, the seven-day moving average of the percentage of positive tests topped out at 21.2% on July 14 and the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 1,723 on July 23.
As of Wednesday, both the moving average number of daily new cases and the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized has stayed below 1,000, while the percentage of positive tests have stayed below 15% for all of October.
However, the rate of new cases, hospitalizations and positive tests have all increased over the past month after reaching some of its lowest totals months in early October
The rate of overall testing, though, has plateaued after also declining from the highs reported in the middle of the summer, when DHEC was recording more than 10,000 tests per day.
Officials have said there has not been a reduction in testing capacity but in demand as “testing fatigue” sets in, and they’ve urged residents to get tested more regularly to hit testing goals.
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials at one point estimated that around 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus didn’t get tested. Across the country, health 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 68 new probable cases and three new probable deaths from COVID-19. That puts the total number of probable cases at 9,228 and total probable deaths at 257.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Wednesday, DHEC reported that 783 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus-related symptoms, or 9.33% 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; 210 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, and 112 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 November 4, 2020 at 1:32 PM.
