SC reports more than 2,600 COVID-19 cases, 14 deaths Monday
South Carolina health officials on Monday reported 2,644 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths from the virus.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control said the figures, which come after five straight days of at least 3,600 confirmed cases, were artificially low due to an “internal systems issue” and would be updated once the issue was resolved.
Since last March, South Carolina has reported 326,588 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,315 coronavirus deaths.
South Carolina counts another 31,066 cases, including 35 Monday, as probable positives, and another 496 deaths, including one 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.
Nearly 26% of the 10,198 COVID-19 tests reported coming back positive, according to DHEC.
The state’s seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate, which provides an idea of how widespread infection is in a testing area, is the highest it has ever been.
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 last year advised governments not to reopen until percent positive rates were at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
Roughly 17% of all COVID-19 tests administered in South Carolina since last March have come back positive, according to DHEC. The state’s seven-day percent positive rate briefly dipped below 5% in mid-May but has otherwise remained well above the WHO’s guidelines for reopening.
As of Monday, South Carolina had received 147,200 total doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, according to DHEC.
The agency reported Monday that 71,433 of Pfizer’s first doses and 15,309 of its second doses had been administered so far, for a 59% utilization rate.
Health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and hospital inpatients over 65 are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. All South Carolinians age 70 and older will be able to schedule vaccination appointments starting Wednesday, DHEC said.
State health officials advise South Carolinians to continue taking measures to mitigate spread of COVID-19 as the vaccination rollout progresses in the months ahead.
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 climbed slightly Monday to 2,387, the seventh straight more than 2,300 South Carolinians have been hospitalized with the virus.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 465 are in intensive care units and 250 are on ventilators, according to DHEC. More than 26% of all occupied South Carolina hospital beds contain COVID-19 patients, data shows.
Both total hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy were 81.5% Monday, according to DHEC.
In Richland County, 76% of hospital beds were occupied Monday, and in Lexington County, 89% 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 seven-day average of new cases is more than 1,500, nearly four times what it was in early November, according to DHEC.
Greenville County, the state’s most populous county, has reported more than twice as many cases as any other county in South Carolina over the past two months. In the Upstate Monday, Greenville again led all counties with 380 COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg County with 196 and Pickens County with 94, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are below the Upstate’s numbers but also have surged since late November. Richland led all Midlands counties Monday with 208 cases, followed by Lexington with 131 and York with 104 confirmed cases.
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 five weeks.
Horry (237) and Florence (109) reported the most cases in the Pee Dee Monday, while Charleston’s 159 cases were the most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 14 deaths reported Monday, 13 were elderly (65 and older) and one was middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC.
South Carolinians from infants to age 106 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 Monday included four York County residents; three residents each from Beaufort and Lexington counties; and a single resident each from Anderson, Bamberg, Greenville and Jasper counties.
How are long-term care facilities affected?
More than 850 COVID-19 cases and 22 coronavirus deaths in the past 10 days are associated with long-term care facilities, data show.
Facility residents account for 448 of the cases and all of the deaths, with the remaining 408 cases affecting staff members.
Six facilities statewide have reported at least 45 combined resident and staff cases in the past 30 days, according to DHEC.
They are Prince George Healthcare Center in Georgetown County (110 cases, eight deaths); White Oak Manor in Lancaster County (57 cases, seven deaths); Wesley Court Assisted Living Community in Spartanburg County (49 cases, two deaths); Brightwater Skilled Nursing Center in Horry County (48 cases, seven deaths); First Midlands Intermediate Care Facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Richland County (45 cases, no deaths); and NHC Healthcare Mauldin in Greenville County (45 cases, three deaths).
Since last March, South Carolina has reported nearly 15,000 cases and 1,679 deaths associated with long-term care facilities. Residents have accounted for more than 60% of the cumulative cases and all but 28 of the deaths, according to DHEC.
Nearly 32% of South Carolinians who have died from the virus were long-term care facility residents.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates are easily the highest they’ve ever been, up nearly 78% in the last month, with 69 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also at record highs, with Monday’s numbers nearly 34% higher 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. An average of 234 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, a 14% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of 26.2% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days, far higher than the state’s cumulative 16.6% positivity average.
Overall, more than 4 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 2:34 PM.