Nearly 25% of COVID tests positive Thursday, as SC reports 2,023 cases, 39 deaths
South Carolina on Thursday reported 2,023 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 39 deaths from the virus.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control has now reported more than 2,000 daily cases in 13 of the last 14 days,for a two-week case total that exceeds all but one of the state’s previous monthly case totals.
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.
Nearly one-quarter of the 243,583 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Carolina since March have been recorded in the last 30 days, data show.
More than 610 have died from coronavirus complications during that span, bringing the cumulative death toll to 4,484, according to DHEC.
Many others remain hospitalized.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which have risen sharply in recent weeks, were at a four-month high Thursday at 1,524 patients, with coronavirus patients making up nearly 17% of all inpatients statewide, according to DHEC.
The state counts another 19,191 cases, including 136 Thursday as probable positives, and another 359 deaths, including four Thursday, 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.
State health officials reported another 8,357 tests Thursday, of which 24.2% were positive,the second-highest daily positivity rate reported in South Carolina.
The only time the state reported a higher percent positive rate was Oct. 3, when DHEC officials said the rate was artificially elevated by the processing of delayed electronic lab reports.
The state’s 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 14.7% 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.
Nearly 43,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in South Carolina this week, with additional weekly shipments to follow, according to DHEC.
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 taking measures to mitigate spread of COVID-19.
“As we patiently wait for additional vaccines, it’s important to understand that it may take months to vaccinate enough of our population that it would allow us to change some of our current safety practices,” state epidemiologist Linda Bell said. “This means we must all continue to take the small steps that make a big difference, including wearing our masks, getting tested and staying home when we’re sick, avoiding group gatherings, practicing physical distancing, and, when it’s our turn, getting vaccinated.”
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.
How are hospitals being impacted?
Hospitalizations for COVID-19, which dropped significantly Tuesday and were not reported Wednesday, shot up nearly 50% Thursday, according to DHEC.
The agency reported 1,524 people hospitalized with COVID-19 Thursday, 333 of whom are in intensive care units and 111 of whom are on ventilators.
South Carolina hasn’t had more than 1,500 coronavirus inpatients since late July. The COVID-19 patients in ICUs also represent at least a 30-day high, data show.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
Total hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy has ticked slightly higher in recent days, with 82.4% of the state’s hospital beds and 78.8% of its ICU beds occupied.
In Richland County, 75% of hospital beds are occupied Tuesday, and in Lexington County, 96% of beds are full, data show.
Which counties were affected?
COVID-19 cases in the Upstate are skyrocketing, outpacing all other South Carolina regions.
The Upstate’s 7-day average of cases is more than 1,100, nearly three times what it was early last month and twice what it was in July when cases statewide were spiking, according to DHEC.
Greenville County, the state’s most populous county, has reported nearly twice as many cases as any other county in South Carolina over the past month.
In the Upstate Thursday, Greenville again led all counties with 306 COVID-19 cases, followed by Anderson County (147, fourth in the state); Pickens County (110, sixth in the state); and Spartanburg County (82, tied for seventh in the state), according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are below the Upstate’s numbers, but also have surged in recent weeks with Lexington (157), Richland (154) and York (82) counties reporting the second, third and seventh highest number of positive tests in the state Thursday.
The number of positive tests in the state’s Pee Dee and Lowcountry regions are well below the Upstate and the Midlands, but have risen significantly in the past month.
Horry (116) and Florence (78) reported the most cases in the PeeDee Tuesday, while Beaufort’s 67 cases were the most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 39 deaths reported for the day, 30 were elderly individuals (65 and older) and nine were middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC.
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 deaths reported Thursday included five York County residents four Spartanburg County residents; three residents each from Anderson, Greenwood and Pickens counties; two residents each from Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Lancaster, Richland and Sumter counties; a single resident from each of Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Edgefield, Horry, Lexington, Orangeburg, Union and Williamsburg counties.
How are schools and long-term care facilities affected?
Nearly 850 COVID-19 cases in the past week are associated with schools, according to DHEC.
State health officials, who report school-related cases twice weekly, documented 572 cases among students and 276 cases among staff this past week.
The numbers include kindergarten through 12th grade students and staff in both public and private schools, and count only individuals who attend school in person or are on campus on a regular basis.
A total of 5,661 school-related cases have been reported since Sept. 4, according to DHEC.
Another 520 COVID-19 cases and 12 coronavirus deaths in the last week are associated with long-term care facilities, data show.
Facility residents account for 298 of the cases and all of the deaths, with the remaining 222 cases affecting staff members.
As of Tuesday, 182 facilities, or about 42%, were reporting an active outbreak, which DHEC defines as at least one resident or staff member cases within the past 14 days.
Since March, South Carolina has reported nearly 13,000 cases and 1,615 deaths associated with long-term care facilities. Residents have accounted for nearly two-thirds of the cumulative cases and all but 26 of the deaths, according to DHEC.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates have risen nearly 89% in the past month and are currently the highest they’ve ever been, with 42 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which have topped 1,000 statewide for the past 15 days reported, are 52% higher Thursday than they’ve been on average over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state has shot up over the past 30 days, with an average of 210 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last month, a 43% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of 17.7% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, more than 3.2 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 1:41 PM.