SC reports highest daily COVID-19 death total since October on Wednesday
South Carolina public health officials on Wednesday reported the highest single-day COVID-19 death total in over a month.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 1,612 new confirmed coronavirus cases — the 15th straight day the state has reported more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases — and 35 deaths, the most since Oct. 31.
Since deaths from COVID-19 may not be confirmed immediately, the numbers DHEC releases each day do not necessarily reflect the total number of people who died of the virus the day before. They do, however, offer the best indication of how deaths are trending statewide.
The most COVID-19 deaths reported in a single day was 74 on July 25.
Since March, more than 206,000 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 4,126 have died, DHEC said.
The number of people being tested for COVID-19 jumped in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, but has fallen significantly since then. Testing over the past four days is down nearly 40% from the four days prior, according to DHEC.
The drop in testing has led to a spike in the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, as is typical when testing rates decline.
Nearly 22% of the 7,480 tests reported Wednesday were positive, the second highest percent positive rate in the past three months, according to public health officials.
Percent positive rates provide an idea of how widespread coronavirus infections are in a testing area, with higher numbers indicating there are likely more people infected with COVID-19 in the community who have not been tested and who may unwittingly spread the disease to others.
The World Health Organization earlier this year advised governments not to reopen until percent positive rates were at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
DHEC urges anyone who is symptomatic or who has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to get tested themselves, and recommends routine monthly testing for anyone who is out and about in the community, even if they are asymptomatic.
To find a testing location near you, visit DHEC’s website at scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations.
Which counties were affected?
The Upstate continues to see rising numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases. In that region, Greenville County had the most new cases Wednesday with 284, followed by Anderson County (104, fifth in the state) and Spartanburg County (94, sixth in the state), according to DHEC.
Horry County, in the Grand Strand region, had the second most new positive tests Wednesday, with 126.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are below the Upstate’s numbers, but have risen rapidly in recent weeks with York (120), Richland (117) and Lexington (81) counties reporting the third, fourth and seventh highest number of positive tests in the state Wednesday.
Of the deaths reported Wednesday, 31 were elderly individuals (65 and older) and four were middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC.
Five deaths each were reported in Darlington and Spartanburg counties; four deaths were reported in Anderson County; three deaths were reported in Greenville County; two deaths each were reported in Charleston, Florence and Newberry counties; and a single death was reported in Aiken, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Colleton, Georgetown, Greenwood, Horry, McCormick, Pickens, Richland and York counties.
How are hospitals being impacted?
DHEC reported 911 people in South Carolina were hospitalized for the coronavirus Wednesday, the fourth straight day that COVID-19 patients have occupied at least 900 hospital beds statewide.
The number of COVID-19 inpatients, which reached a three-month high of 980 on Tuesday, has not topped 1,000 since late August. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
Coronavirus patients made up 11.6% of all reported inpatients in South Carolina Wednesday, the ninth straight day COVID-19 patients have occupied at least 10% of the state’s hospital beds, according to DHEC.
More than 27% of COVID-19 patients, or 250 people, are in intensive care units, and 13%, or 118 patients, are on ventilators.
Despite the recent increase in COVID-19 patients, hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy remain below 75%, with 73% of the state’s hospital beds and 71% of its ICU beds occupied.
In Richland County, 72% of hospital beds are occupied Wednesday, and in Lexington County, 92% of beds are full, data show.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
A couple key COVID-19 metrics the state tracks to measure spread remain below the highs hit in July, but are trending up, data show.
Daily case rates have risen nearly 50% in the past 30 days and hospitalizations are up more than 20% since mid-October.
Despite the drop in testing over the past few days, the number of people being tested has been on the rise across the state over the past month. An average of 170 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily in the last 30 days, a 22% increase from the month prior, according to DHEC.
Just more than 14% of those tests have come back positive, a percent positive rate that has remained steady since the beginning of November.
Overall, more than 2.7 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 1:26 PM.