SC reports 1,762 COVID-19 cases, 64 deaths Wednesday
State health officials Wednesday reported 1,762 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 64 deaths, marking the first time in two months that South Carolina has reported fewer than 2,000 cases on back-to-back days.
Just over 16% of the 15,289 COVID-19 tests reported Wednesday came back positive, according to the State Department of Health and Environmental Control.
COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to decline from their mid-January record highs, dropping below 1,800 Wednesday for the first time since late December. The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus peaked at 2,466 on Jan. 13.
Since last March, the state has reported 402,361 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,663 deaths from the virus.
South Carolina counts an additional 48,433 cases, including 156 Wednesday, as probable positives, and another 731 deaths, including 15 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.
In total, the state has reported 450,794 confirmed and probable cases and 7,394 confirmed and probable deaths.
Vaccines distributed
As of Wednesday, South Carolina had received 423,150 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and 354,100 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency reported Wednesday that 254,615 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 109,777 first doses of the Moderna vaccine had been administered so far. Another 66,423 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 9,073 second doses of the Moderna vaccine also have been administered.
Administrations of the Moderna vaccine currently lag behind Pfizer administrations because until recently Moderna shots had been used exclusively to vaccinate long-term care facility residents and staff as part of a federal pharmacy partnership. In recent weeks, the Moderna vaccine, which does not have the same ultra-cold storage requirements as the Pfizer vaccine, has been shipped to pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and other providers, and its uptake is expected to increase.
Health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, hospital inpatients over 65 and all people age 70 and older are currently eligible to receive vaccinations. Starting Monday, all people age 65-69, regardless of health status, will be eligible to book vaccination appointments and receive doses.
In addition to the 440,000 first and second vaccine doses that have been administered, more than 383,000 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. For those who lack internet access, DHEC recently launched a phone line — 866-365-8110 — where operators are available every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to help people searching for information about vaccine providers.
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 dropped to 1,760 on Wednesday, with coronavirus patients accounting for just over 19% of all hospital inpatients.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 391 are in intensive care units, and 238 are on ventilators, according to DHEC.
Total hospital bed occupancy, which has hovered around 80% for months, was at 81% Wednesday, while ICU bed occupancy was just under 78%, data show.
In Richland County, 76% of hospital beds were occupied Monday, and in Lexington County, 81% of beds are full, data show.
Which counties were affected?
COVID-19 cases have fallen in all regions over the past few weeks, but remain highest in the Upstate.
The Upstate’s seven-day average of new cases is about 1,020, the lowest its been in nearly two months, 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-and-a-half months.
In the Upstate Wednesday, Greenville again led all counties with 323 COVID-19 cases, followed by Anderson County with 95 cases and Spartanburg County with 91 cases, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are slightly below the Upstate’s numbers, with a seven-day average of 810 new cases, according to DHEC. Richland led all Midlands counties Wednesday with 123 cases, followed by York with 99 cases and Lexington with 91 cases.
The number of positive tests in the state’s Pee Dee and Lowcountry regions are below the Upstate and the Midlands, but slightly elevated from where they had been prior to a surge in cases over the holidays.
Horry County reported the most cases in the PeeDee Wednesday with 140, while Charleston County’s 142 cases were most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 64 confirmed deaths reported Wednesday, 51 were elderly (65 and older) and 13 were middle-aged individuals (35-64), according to DHEC.
South Carolinians from infancy 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 10 Greenville County residents; six residents each from Anderson and Richland counties; five Horry County residents; four Greenwood County residents; three residents each from Lexington, Oconee and Pickens counties; two residents each from Charleston, Dorchester, Florence, Lancaster, Laurens and York counties; and a single resident each from Aiken, Berkeley, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Georgetown, Kershaw, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Spartanburg and Williamsburg counties.
How are schools and long-term care facilities affected?
More than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in the past week are associated with schools.
State health officials, who report school-related cases twice weekly, documented 786 cases among students and 228 cases among staff between Jan. 26 and Feb. 2.
The numbers include kindergarten through 12th grade students and staff in both public and private schools, and count only individuals who attend school in person or are on campus on a regular basis.
Results from a rapid schools testing initiative that some districts have implemented are included in the counts.
A total of 9,863 school-related COVID-19 cases have been reported since Sept. 4, DHEC said.
Another 736 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus deaths in the last week are associated with active outbreaks at 239 of the state’s 482 long-term care facilities, which have seen a spike in coronavirus infections and deaths in the last 30 days, data show.
DHEC defines an active outbreak as at least one resident or staff member case within the past 14 days.
Facility residents account for 426 of the past week’s COVID-19 cases and 40 of the deaths, with the remaining 310 cases and one death affecting staff members.
As of Wednesday, long-term care facilities had reported more than 2,100 COVID-19 cases and 138 deaths in the last month, a 34% increase in cases and a 89% increase in deaths from the month prior, according to DHEC.
In South Carolina, long-term care facility residents account for less than 3% of the state’s roughly 400,000 COVID-19 cases, but about 25% of its virus deaths, data show.
Since March, South Carolina has reported more than 17,300 cases and 1,791 deaths associated with long-term care facilities. Residents have accounted for nearly two-thirds of the cumulative cases and all but 29 of the deaths, according to DHEC.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates have dropped recently, but are still up more than 20% in the past month compared to the month prior, with 78 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus deaths also have risen considerably in recent weeks, reaching weekly highs in each of the past four weeks, according to DHEC. The agency has reported 1,944 virus deaths, or about 26% of the state’s cumulative death total, in the last 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the way down after reaching record highs a few weeks ago. The number of coronavirus inpatients reported Wednesday is about 19% less than the average reported daily over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs Wednesday was about 14% lower than the 30-day average, and the number of coronavirus patients on ventilators was 12% lower than the average over the past month.
The number of people being tested across the state has increased in the past month. An average of 645 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, an 29% 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 10.5% and the 30-day positivity rate is nearly 13%.
The positivity rate now being reported by DHEC is much lower than it had been previously due to a change Tuesday in the way the department calculates the rate.
Previously, DHEC had calculated the rate by dividing the number of people with positive results by the total number of people who had taken tests. Going forward, the agency will divide all positive COVID-19 tests by the total number of COVID-19 tests administered, and multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage, officials said.
Elevated percent positive rates indicate more people are likely 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.
More than 12% 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.
How SC compares to other states
South Carolina was one of the states hardest hit by COVID-19 over the past week, according to a weekly report published by the federal government.
South Carolina ranked near the top of the list in all coronavirus infection-related categories last week, according to the White House COVID-19 team’s state profile report, which provides a weekly snapshot of COVID-19 cases, deaths, test positivity and other factors at the county level for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
From Jan. 23-29, the state ranked second (of 52) in new COVID-19 cases per capita; third in coronavirus test positivity; seventh in COVID-19 hospital admissions; and fourth in new COVID-19 deaths per capita, according to the report.
All but two counties in the state — Fairfield and Newberry — are considered COVID-19 red zones, based on their rates of new cases and test positivity, the report found.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 2:57 PM.