SC reports 3,567 COVID cases, 56 deaths Wednesday, setting monthly case record
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in South Carolina in January has already exceeded all previous monthly totals, according to state health data.
A day after dropping to their lowest daily total in two weeks, South Carolina’s COVID-19 numbers jumped back up to more than 3,500 cases Wednesday, bringing the monthly total to 78,522, state health officials reported.
Prior to January, the state’s highest monthly COVID-19 case total was 77,679, set just last month. The state has not reported more than 52,000 cases in any other month since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control Wednesday reported 3,567 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths from the virus, a nearly 40% increase from the 2,570 cases reported Wednesday.
The state’s moving seven-day average of COVID-19 cases is 3,882, down about 25% from its peak of more than 5,000 cases about 12 days ago, according to DHEC.
Of the 14,331 tests reported Wednesday, 24.9% came back positive, the sixth straight day that percent positivity has remained below 25%, according to DHEC. Prior to Friday, the daily percentage of positive tests had exceeded 25% for 17 consecutive days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which reached record highs multiple times in the past couple weeks, remain elevated at 2,386 Wednesday, but are down slightly from their peak about a week ago. Coronavirus patients take up about 26% of all occupied South Carolina hospital beds, data show.
Since last March, the state has reported 362,451 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,729 coronavirus deaths.
PROBABLE CASES, VACCINES DISTRIBUTED
South Carolina counts another 37,392 cases, including 93 Wednesday, as probable positives, and another 599 deaths, including 13 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.
As of Wednesday, South Carolina had received 200,075 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and 117,900 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency reported Wednesday that 116,623 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 24,974 doses of the Moderna vaccine had been administered so far. Another 31,378 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 Jan. 13, all South Carolinians age 70 and older are now also able to schedule vaccination appointments.
In addition to the 172,975 first and second vaccine doses that have been administered, another 235,202 people have schedule appointments to receive a shot, DHEC said.
Anyone eligible to receive a vaccine who would like to get one can use DHEC’s locator tool to find a provider with availability near you at www.scdhec.gov/vaxlocator.
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 Wednesday to 2,386, the 16th straight day they’ve exceeded 2,300. COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked at 2,466 last Wednesday.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 471 are in intensive care units, and 307 are on ventilators, according to DHEC. Nearly 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 81% Wednesday, while ICU bed occupancy was just below 80%, data show.
In Richland County, 76% of hospital beds were occupied Wednesday, and in Lexington County, 89% 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 about 1,440, far higher than it was two months ago, but lower than it’s been for most of the new year, 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. Among South Carolina counties, Greenville County is second only to Pickens County in its per capita rate of COVID-19 infection over the last two months.
In the Upstate Wednesday, Spartanburg County — another one of the country’s foremost coronavirus hotspots — led all counties with 790 cases, the first time in months that any county besides Greenville has reported the most daily cases in the state. Following Spartanburg County was Greenville with 742 cases, Cherokee County with 146 cases and Anderson County with 117 cases, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are elevated, but remain below the Upstate’s numbers, with a seven-day average of about 1,100 cases. Richland led all Midlands counties Wednesday with 226 cases, followed by Lexington with 134 and York with 114 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 six weeks.
Horry County (136) reported the most cases in the PeeDee Wednesday, while Beaufort County’s 187 cases were most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 56 deaths reported Wednesday, 43 were elderly (65 and older), 13 were middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC.
South Carolinians of various ages, as young as infants and as old as 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 six residents each from Anderson and Greenville counties; five Florence County residents; four Aiken County residents; three residents each from Berkeley, Darlington, Orangeburg, Pickens and Richland counties; two residents each from Charleston, Dorchester and York counties; and a single resident each from Chesterfield, Colleton, Fairfield, Greenwood, Horry, Jasper, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marlboro, Newberry, Oconee and Sumter counties.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates are the highest they’ve ever been, up 66% in the last month, with 79 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
The state has reported at least 4,000 daily confirmed cases 10 times this month and at least 3,000 cases on 16 days in January.
Before December, South Carolina had only reported 2,000 confirmed daily COVID-19 cases three times and never on consecutive days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have also remained elevated the past couple weeks, with the number of coronavirus patients reported Wednesday nearly 14% higher than the average over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs Wednesday was 12% higher than the 30-day average, and the number of coronavirus patients on ventilators was 37% higher than the average over the past month.
The number of people being tested across the state is also rising. An average of 254 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, a 15% increase from the month prior, data show.
The state’s seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate, which provides an idea of how widespread infection is in a testing area, is 22.7% and the 30-day positivity rate is 27%.
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.
Overall, more than 4.4 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 1:40 PM.