Hospitalizations for COVID hit another high, as SC reports 4,673 cases Wednesday
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 hit a record high again Wednesday, as state health officials announced South Carolina’s second highest ever daily confirmed case total.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 4,673 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 42 deaths from the virus Wednesday, but for the third straight day said its report was impacted by an “internal systems issue” the agency is working to resolve.
The number of COVID-19 inpatients statewide ticked up to 2,466 Wednesday, the 11th consecutive day hospitalizations for COVID-19 have exceeded 2,000.
South Carolina has now reported at least 4,000 daily COVID-19 cases seven times in the last three weeks and at least 3,000 cases on 18 separate days since the beginning of December.
Since last March, the state has reported 332,990 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,402 coronavirus deaths.
South Carolina counts another 32,388 cases, including 96 Wednesday, as probable positives, and another 509 deaths, including nine Wednesday, 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.
More than 27% of the 17,245 tests reported Wednesday were 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 Wednesday, South Carolina had received 147,200 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and 86,400 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, which is currently being reserved for residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
The agency reported Wednesday that 76,676 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 19,694 doses of the Moderna vaccine had been administered so far. Another 18,600 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine have also been administered.
Health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and hospital inpatients over 65 are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. As of Wednesday, all South Carolinians age 70 and older are now also able to schedule vaccination appointments, although doing so has been a frustrating exercise for many residents.
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?
COVID-19 hospitalizations reached 2,466 Wednesday, the second straight day they’ve hit an all-time high. It’s the 11th straight day more than 2,000 people in South Carolina have been hospitalized with the virus.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 475 are in intensive care units, and a record 277 are on ventilators, according to DHEC. More than 26% of all South Carolina inpatients are currently being treated for COVID-19.
Total hospital bed occupancy, which has hovered around 80% for weeks, was at nearly 83% Wednesday. Just under 82% of ICU beds are occupied statewide, data show.
In Richland County, 76% of hospital beds were occupied Wednesday, and in Lexington County, 90% of beds are full, data show.
Which counties were affected?
COVID-19 cases in the Upstate continue to outpace 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 and was recently ranked among the nation’s top COVID-19 hotspots.
In the Upstate Wednesday, Greenville again led all counties with 782 COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg County (247) — another one of the country’s foremost coronavirus hotspots — Anderson County (227) and Pickens County (197), according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are below the Upstate’s numbers but also have surged since late November. Lexington and York counties tied for the most cases in the Midlands Wednesday with 303, followed by Richland with 244.
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 six weeks.
Horry and Florence both reported 206 cases Wednesday, tied for most in the PeeDee, while Charleston’s 178 cases were most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 42 deaths reported Wednesday, 30 were elderly (65 and older) and 12 were 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 Wednesday included five residents each from Greenville and Spartanburg counties; four Colleton County residents; three residents each from Anderson, Pickens and Union counties; two residents each from Aiken, Charleston, Florence, Lancaster and Lexington counties; and a single resident each from Beaufort, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Georgetown, Newberry, Oconee and Richland counties.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates are easily the highest they’ve ever been, up nearly 73% in the last month, with 70 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also at record highs, with Wednesday’s numbers more than 32% higher than they’ve been on average over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state is also rising. An average of 232 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, a 11% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of 26.7% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days, far higher than the state’s cumulative 16.7% positivity average.
Overall, more than 4.1 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 2:43 PM.