SC reports 2,121 COVID-19 cases, 21 deaths Monday
State health officials on Monday announced 2,121 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths from the virus.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control has now reported more than 2,000 daily cases in 18 of the last 19 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.
About one-quarter of the 255,210 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Carolina since March have been recorded in the last 30 days.
During that span, 638 people have died from coronavirus complications, bringing the cumulative death toll to 4,587, according to DHEC.
The state counts an additional 20,523 cases, including 34 Monday, as probable positives, and an additional 375 deaths, including six Monday, 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 9,796 tests Monday, of which 21.7% were positive, the sixth straight day South Carolina’s positivity rate exceeded 20%.
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 14.9% 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 arrived in South Carolina last week, with additional shipments to follow early this week, according to DHEC.
As of Friday, more than 7,000 front line medical workers already had been vaccinated, the agency said.
Residents and staff of long-term care facilities, who are being vaccinated exclusively with the Moderna vaccine, should start receiving their first doses next week, according to DHEC.
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 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 such as wearing masks, avoiding group gatherings and practicing physical distancing.
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?
DHEC reported 1,523 people hospitalized with COVID-19 Monday, 324 of whom are in intensive care units and 165 of whom are on ventilators, a 35-day high.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 87% from a month ago and made up nearly 18% of all hospitalizations statewide Monday, the highest rate reported in at least 35 days, according to DHEC.
There are 72% more COVID-19 patients in ICUs and 83% more ventilated coronavirus patients Monday than there were a month ago, DHEC data says. The number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators has increased each of the last four days and reached a 35-day high Monday.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
Total hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy have remained steady at about 80% as the number of COVID-19 patients have increased, with 78% of the state’s hospital beds and 76% of its ICU beds occupied Monday.
In Richland County, 73% of hospital beds are occupied Monday, and in Lexington County, 86% 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 twice as many cases as any other county in South Carolina over the past month.
In the Upstate Monday, Greenville again led all counties with 322 COVID-19 cases, followed by Anderson County (122, fifth in the state) and Spartanburg County (120, sixth 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 York (142) Richland (141), Lexington (101) and counties reporting the third, fourth and eighth highest number of positive tests in the state Monday.
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.
Florence (153) and Horry (117) reported the most cases in the PeeDee Monday, while Charleston (94) reported the most confirmed cases in the Lowcountry.
Of the 21 deaths reported for the day, 18 were elderly individuals (65 and older) two were middle-aged (35-64) and one was a young adult (18-34) from Williamsburg County, 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, according to DHEC data.
The deaths reported Monday included four York County residents; three Richland County residents; two residents each from Chester, Horry and Spartanburg counties; and a single resident each from Anderson, Chesterfield, Dorchester, Georgetown, Lexington, Orangeburg, Sumter and Williamsburg counties.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates have risen 90% in the past month and are currently the highest they’ve ever been, with 46 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 20 days, are 40% higher Monday than they’ve been on average over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state also continues to rise, with an average of 218 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last month, a 41% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of 18.9% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, more than 3.3 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 1:46 PM.