SC reports 2,303 COVID cases, 4 deaths Tuesday
South Carolina on Tuesday reported 2,303 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and four additional deaths from the virus.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control has now reported more than 2,000 daily cases in 11 of the past 12 days. Prior to the recent spike in cases, South Carolina had reported 2,000 or more daily cases only three times, and never on consecutive days.
Since March, more than 239,000 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 4,402 have died, data show.
The state counts another 18,201 cases, including 19 Tuesday as probable positives, and another 354 deaths, including one Tuesday, as probable COVID-19 deaths.
DHEC defines a probable case as someone who has had a positive antigen test or has virus symptoms and is at high risk for infection. Probable deaths are ones where the death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause of or a contributing factor to death, but the person was not tested for the virus.
South Carolina began receiving shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday, with between 200,000 and 300,000 doses expected to reach the state by year’s end.
Front line medical workers, residents of long-term care facilities and others who are at increased risk of contracting the virus or are at high risk of experiencing severe complications from it will be prioritized for vaccination while supplies are limited over the next several months.
In the meantime, state health officials have advised South Carolinians to continue wearing masks, keep safe distances from others, avoid congregating indoors and get tested for COVID-19.
DHEC reported another 11,589 tests Tuesday, of which 19.9% were positive.
The seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate, which provides an idea of how widespread infection is in a testing area, is at its highest point since mid-July.
Elevated percent positive rates indicate there are likely more people infected with COVID-19 in the community who have not yet been tested and that testing may need to be ramped up.
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.
Roughly 14.6% of all COVID-19 tests administered in South Carolina since March have come back positive, according to DHEC. The state’s 7-day percent positive rate briefly dipped below 5% in mid-May, but has otherwise remained well above the WHO’s guidelines for reopening.
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.