More than 2,500 new cases of COVID-19 and 43 more deaths confirmed in South Carolina
For the third consecutive day, more than 2,400 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in South Carolina by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Along with 2,538 new positive tests, 43 more deaths were reported by DHEC on Sunday.
Since testing began in March, 216,378 cases of the coronavirus and 4,237 deaths have been reported in South Carolina, data shows.
Sunday’s data is based on 11,980 tests, and the percent positive was 21.2%, according to DHEC.
Record high single-day totals were set each of the past two days, with 2,470 new cases on Friday, exceeded by Saturday’s total of 2,715 positive tests of COVID-19. The previous single-day record was 2,343 cases confirmed on July 18.
Sunday marked the 20th consecutive day that more than 1,000 positive tests were confirmed in South Carolina, dating back to Nov. 16 when DHEC reported 981 new cases.
The most deaths reported on a single day in South Carolina occurred on July 25, when 80 deaths were confirmed, The New York Times reported.
Which counties were affected?
The Upstate counties continued to have the most new positive cases.
On Sunday, Greenville led all counties with 370 new COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg’s 258, and 148 new cases in Pickens County, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands also have grown in recent weeks. DHEC reported 142 cases in Richland County and 120 in Lexington counties on Sunday.
That brings the number of confirmed cases in Richland County to 19,730, while 11.067 positive tests have been reported in Lexington County.
Of the deaths reported Sunday, 40 were elderly individuals (65 and older) — including two each in Richland and Lexington counties — and three were middle-aged (35-64 years old), according to DHEC. The middle-aged deaths were reported in Chester, Lancaster, and Laurens counties.
The average age of all South Carolinians who have died from coronavirus complications is 75, and the vast majority of those who died — 87% — were over 60, data show.
The remaining elderly deaths reported Sunday were in York (7), Spartanburg (4), Anderson (3), Greenville (3), Pickens (3), Union (3), Aiken (2), Kershaw (2), Orangeburg (2), and Abbeville, Bamberg, Charleston, Dorchester, Florence, Newberry, as well as Saluda counties.
Overall, 288 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Richland County, while the death toll increased to 227 in Lexington County, according to DHEC.
How are hospitals being impacted?
DHEC reported 1,025 people in South Carolina were hospitalized for the coronavirus Sunday. This week was the first time in more than three months that COVID-19 patients had occupied more than 1,000 hospital beds statewide.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
Coronavirus patients made up 11.7% of all reported inpatients in South Carolina on Saturday, the 12th consecutive day COVID-19 patients have occupied at least 10% of the state’s hospital beds, according to DHEC.
More than 23.7% of COVID-19 patients, or 243 people, are in intensive care units, and almost 10.5%, or 108 patients, are on ventilators.
Despite the recent increase in COVID-19 patients, hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy remain at around 78.7%.
Of the 13,197 hospital beds available in South Carolina, 8,768 are currently occupied, health officials said. There are currently 1,312 of 1,692 ICU beds occupied, or 77.5%, according to DHEC.
In Richland County, 785 hospital beds are occupied (72.4%), and 299 are available, while 432 of 499 hospital beds (86.6%) in Lexington County are occupied, data shows.
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.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
A couple of key COVID-19 metrics the state tracks to measure spread remain below the highs hit in July, but are trending upward, data show.
Daily case rates have risen more than 50% in the past 30 days and hospitalizations are up about 25% from a month ago.
The number of people being tested has been on the rise across the state over the past month, with an average of 174 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last 30 days, a 22% increase from the month prior, according to DHEC.
An average of 14.8% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, 2,869,493 tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
DHEC said it will not report daily COVID-19 numbers on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Data for those days will be provided in the following day’s report.
Are all cases accounted for?
Across the country, health experts said official case counts have likely under-counted the number of cases to large degrees. At one point, South Carolina officials estimated that 86% of those infected never got tested or diagnosed, but they no longer provide those estimates.
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 Sunday, DHEC reported 51 new probable COVID-19 cases in the state, and six new probable deaths. That puts the total number of probable cases at 15,721 and total probable deaths at 329, data shows.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 11:27 AM.
