DHEC reports more than 1,300 new coronavirus cases in South Carolina
For the second time in four days, South Carolina health officials have announced more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, as the rate of virus activity in the Palmetto State continues to rise into the fall.
Officials from the Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 1,326 new cases Tuesday, along with 18 more deaths related to the virus. Since the first cases were identified in South Carolina in March, officials have reported 177,515 confirmed cases and 3,795 confirmed deaths.
Tuesday’s case count marks the second highest single-day rise in two months, behind only Saturday’s announced total of more than 1,600. DHEC officials also reported 9,770 individual test results Tuesday, putting the percentage of positive tests at 13.6%. It has been more than 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 2,208,233 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.
Which counties were affected?
A large portion of the new cases reported Tuesday came from the Upstate, which has seen a surge in new cases over the past few weeks. Greenville County led the state with 209 new cases, while Anderson County had the second most with 93.
In the Midlands, Richland County reported 87 new cases, while neighboring Lexington County added 77.
The deaths reported Tuesday occurred among individuals from Aiken (1), Bamberg (1), Cherokee (1), Chesterfield (1), Dorchester (1), Florence (1), Greenville (3), Kershaw (3), Orangeburg (1), Pickens (2), Spartanburg (2) and Union (1).
Five of the individuals who died were middle aged, DHEC reported, defined as between 35 and 64 years old. The rest were elderly, defined by DHEC 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 have issued warnings 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.
And while the rate of infection has risen, the rate of testing has declined from the highs reported in the middle of the summer, when DHEC was recording more than 10,000 tests per day, and plateaued throughout the fall.
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 to large degrees.
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 Friday, health officials reported 69 new probable cases and four new probable deaths from COVID-19. That puts the total number of probable cases at 10,223 and total probable deaths at 267.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Tuesday, DHEC reported that 784 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; 197 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, and 104 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 10, 2020 at 2:34 PM.
