44 more deaths and nearly 3,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported in South Carolina
For the third consecutive day, more than 2,900 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in South Carolina by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Along with 2,924 new positive tests, 44 more deaths were reported by DHEC on Sunday.
Since testing began in March, 234,392 cases of the coronavirus and 4,387 deaths have been reported in South Carolina, data shows.
Sunday’s data is based on 13,749 tests, and the percent positive was 21.3%, according to DHEC. That’s a slight decrease from Saturday’s 23%, the highest rate in months.
Record high single-day totals were set each of the past two days, with 3,137 new cases on Friday, followed by Saturday’s total of 3,047 positive tests of COVID-19. Prior to the December surge, the previous single-day record was 2,343 cases confirmed on July 18.
Sunday marked the 27th 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. Nine of the past 10 days have seen more than 2,000 positive tests confirmed, data shows.
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?
COVID-19 cases in the Upstate continue to surge and the area had the most new cases Sunday.
Greenville led all counties with 491 new COVID-19 cases, followed by 307 more in Spartanburg County, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands also have surged in recent weeks with Richland having 193 news cases and Lexington 144.
That brings the number of confirmed cases in Richland County to 20,917, while 11,931 positive tests have been reported in Lexington County.
Of the deaths reported Sunday, 35 were elderly individuals (65 and older) — including two in Lexington County — and nine were middle-aged (35-64 years old), according to DHEC. The middle-aged deaths were reported in Cherokee (2), Beaufort, Charleston, Chester, Darlington, Greenville, Spartanburg, and York counties.
South Carolinians of all ages have died after contracting COVID-19, but the disease has taken the greatest toll on elderly residents.
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 Greenville (6), Spartanburg (5), York (4), Oconee (3), Marion (3), Pickens (3), Anderson (2), Sumter (2), Charleston, Greenwood, Lancaster, Laurens, and Union counties.
Overall, 295 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Richland County, while the death toll increased to 235 in Lexington County, according to DHEC.
How are hospitals being impacted?
Hospitalizations for the coronavirus, which are up nearly 60% from a month ago, continued to climb Sunday.
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 statewide, which has been gradually climbing for the past month, reached 1,278 Sunday.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 peaked at 1,723 on July 23, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus patients made up 14.4% of all reported inpatients in South Carolina on Sunday, data shows.
Nearly 23% of COVID-19 patients, or 295 people, are in intensive care units, and nearly 10%, or 129 patients, are on ventilators.
Of the 13,200 hospital beds available in South Carolina, 8,871 inpatient beds are currently occupied, or 79.6%, health officials said. There are currently 1,330 of 1,699 ICU beds occupied, or 78%, according to DHEC.
In Richland County, 761 hospital beds are occupied (70.3%), and 321 are available, while 455 of 505 hospital beds (90.1%) in Lexington County are occupied, data shows.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates have risen more than 83% in the past month and are currently the highest they’ve ever been, with 37 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
The number of people being tested across the state has shot up over the past month, with an average of 197 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last 30 days, a 38% increase from the month prior, data shows.
An average of 16.5% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, 3,096,815 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 61 new probable COVID-19 cases in the state, and 11 new probable deaths. That puts the total number of probable cases at 17,814 and total probable deaths at 352, data shows.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
