SC has almost 3,000 new cases of COVID-19 and 65 deaths, DHEC says
State health officials Saturday reported 2,966 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 65 deaths from the virus.
Almost a quarter of the 111,964 COVID-19 tests reported Saturday came back positive, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. It’s the fourth straight day the positivity rate has been almost 25% or higher.
The World Health Organization has said the positivity rate should be around 5% to control the virus.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which have been dropping steadily in recent days after reaching record highs earlier this month, were at 1,927 Saturday, their lowest point in January and the second straight day they’ve sunk below 2,000 in four weeks. Coronavirus patients still take up nearly 20% of all occupied S.C. hospital beds, data show.
Since last March, the state has reported 394,153 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,336 deaths from the virus.
South Carolina counts an additional 45,632 cases, including 141 Saturday, as probable positives, and another 678 deaths, including seven Saturday, 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.
Vaccines distributed
As of Saturday, South Carolina had received 341,250 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and 316,000 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency reported Saturday that 373,443 doses of the vaccine have been adminstered. Almost 10,000 people were given a dose of the vaccine between Friday and Saturday.
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 already administered doses, 352,219 people have scheduled 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 were at their lowest total in almost four weeks Saturday at 1,927.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 415 are in intensive care units, and 261 are on ventilators, according to DHEC.
Total hospital bed occupancy, which has hovered around 80% for weeks, was at 83% Saturday, while ICU bed occupancy was at 80%, data show.
In Richland County, 78% of hospital beds were occupied Wednesday, and in Lexington County, 94% of beds are full, data show.
Which counties were affected?
Even as COVID-19 cases decline in all regions of the state, the Upstate continues to outpace all other South Carolina regions in its daily number of coronavirus cases.
Greenville County, the state’s most populous county, has reported more than twice as many COVID-19 cases as any other county in South Carolina over the past two and a half months.
Greenville led all counties in the Upstate Friday with 356 confirmed cases, followed by Spartanburg County with 192 cases, Anderson County with 133 cases and Pickens County with 110 cases, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are elevated, but remain below the Upstate’s numbers. Richland led all Midlands counties Saturday with 262 cases, followed by Lexington with 146 and York with 112.
The number of positive tests in the state’s Pee Dee and Lowcountry regions are well below the Upstate and the Midlands but still above where they were before the holiday season spike.
Horry County (152) reported the most cases in the Pee Dee Wednesday, while Charleston’s 173 and Beaufort’s 108 cases were most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 65 deaths reported Wednesday, 58 were age 65 and older and seven were between 35 and 64, according to DHEC.
South Carolinians as young as infants and as old as 106 have died after contracting COVID-19, but the disease has taken the greatest toll on older 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 happened in the following counties: Aiken (2), Anderson (2), Charleston (3), Dorchester (2), Florence (1), Greenville (7), Jasper (1), Lancaster (2), Lexington (2), McCormick (4), Oconee (2), Orangeburg (1), Pickens (1), Richland (3).
York County had an unusually high number of deaths with 32.
Overall, more than 4.7 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 1:01 PM.