SC reports more than 50 COVID deaths for third straight day
State health officials Friday reported at least 50 confirmed COVID-19 deaths for the third straight day, announcing 54 virus deaths and 2,745 new confirmed cases.
More than 11% of the 64,042 COVID-19 tests reported Friday came back positive, DHEC said.
The large number of tests reported Friday resulted from a dump of nearly 27,000 test results the state received Tuesday from a Greenville lab, state health officials said. The tests, which were counted in Friday’s cumulative numbers, covered a 16-day period between late December and mid-January, DHEC said.
COVID-19 hospitalizations continued their steady decline, dropping to 1,637 Friday, more than 33% lower than their peak of 2,466 on Jan. 13.
Since last March, the state has reported 408,787 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,770 deaths from the virus.
South Carolina counts an additional 51,187 cases, including 221 Friday, as probable positives, and another 783 deaths, including 13 Friday, 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 459,974 confirmed and probable cases and 7,553 confirmed and probable deaths.
Vaccines distributed
As of Friday, South Carolina had received 425,510 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and 354,100 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency reported Friday that 284,824 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 107,933 first doses of the Moderna vaccine had been administered so far. Another 75,942 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 14,857 second doses of the Moderna vaccine also have been administered.
Administrations of the Moderna vaccine currently lag behind Pfizer administrations. 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 484,000 first and second vaccine doses that have been administered, more than 399,000 people have schedule appointments to receive a shot, DHEC said.
Anyone eligible to receive a vaccine who would like one can use DHEC’s locator tool to find a nearby provider with availability 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 continue to decline each day, and are down more than 11% since Monday.
Coronavirus patients Friday made up about 17.5% of all hospital inpatients, according to DHEC. That’s nearly 10 percentage points lower than just a few weeks ago, when they made up more than 27% of all inpatients, according to DHEC.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 368 are in intensive care units, and 232 are on ventilators, according to DHEC.
Total hospital bed occupancy, which has hovered around 80% for months, was down Friday to 82%, while ICU bed occupancy was down to 76%, data show.
In Richland County, 77% of hospital beds were occupied Friday, and in Lexington County, 86% of beds are full, data show.