As DHEC warns of COVID-19 surge, South Carolina reports 524 cases, low testing total
On the same day South Carolina health officials sounded a warning that the state could be seeing a fall surge in COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 524 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus Thursday — and the state’s lowest testing total in more than a month.
DHEC recorded just 2,922 individual test results Thursday, the first time the state has had fewer than 3,000 in a day since Oct. 2. This marks the second day in a row that DHEC has reported its fewest test results in a month.
Those low testing totals put Thursday’s percentage of positive tests at 17.9%, also the highest it has reached since Oct. 2. It’s now been nearly three 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 to below 15%, but it is still well above the 5% mark that health experts have cited as a goal for safely reopening.
A total of 2,077,260 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 regularly and are urging residents to take advantage of free testing sites throughout the state. They’ve also expanded types of testing to include shallow nasal swabs, oral swabs or saliva testing at different locations.
DHEC officials also announced seven more confirmed deaths related to the novel coronavirus Thursday. Since the first cases of the virus were identified in South Carolina in March, officials have reported 172,216 confirmed cases and 3,736 deaths.
Which counties were affected?
Richland County led the state in new cases reported Thursday, adding 69 to its total, while neighboring Lexington County added 38.
In the Upstate, which has seen a surge in new cases over the past few weeks, Greenville County added 52 new cases, second most in the state. Anderson County added 41.
The deaths reported Thursday occurred among individuals from Abbeville (1), Dorchester (1), Spartanburg (3), Union (1) and York (1).
All of the individuals whose deaths were reported Thursday were elderly, DHEC reported, defined as 65 years old and up.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
In recent weeks, parts of the country have hit a “third wave” of infections higher than the peaks seen in the spring and summer, leading to rising national numbers approaching 100,000 new cases per day.
So far, South Carolina has 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.
But S.C. officials issued a warning Thursday that parts of the state are experiencing rapid rises in key metrics, especially in the Upstate. And indicators such as daily case rates by population, percentage of positive tests and hospitalizations have all risen since August.
“No one should lose sight of the power we each hold to help decrease deaths and illnesses from COVID-19 for all of us. We truly have an opportunity to take much better control of the spread of this virus,” Dr. Bell said in a statement. “Wearing a mask in public and practicing physical distancing, consistently, would change the trajectory of our cases in South Carolina in a positive way, and it is my hope this happens very soon.”
But while the rate of infection has risen, the rate of testing has declined as of late, especially 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 Thursday, health officials reported 89 new probable cases and no new probable deaths from COVID-19. That puts the total number of probable cases at 9,423 and total probable deaths at 256.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Thursday, DHEC reported that 755 patients were hospitalized with coronavirus-related symptoms, or 9.07% 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; 214 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, and 102 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 5, 2020 at 2:10 PM.
