Percent of positive COVID tests dips to lowest point in months, DHEC reports
The percent of positive coronavirus tests was at its lowest point in months Saturday, according to state health officials.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control reported that 7.8% of 33,760 tests came back positive, which is a high number of tests and the lowest positive percentage since the early days of the pandemic in South Carolina.
The World Health Organization has said that to control the spread of the virus the percentage of positive tests needs to be 5% or less.
Also on Saturday, DHEC reported 1,925 new cases of the virus and 52 new deaths from COVID-19. It reported 216 new probable cases and 11 new probable deaths.
Probable cases and deaths are likely coronavirus related but have not been confirmed yet.
Forty-six of the deaths were people age 65 and older and six were people age 35 to 64, according to DHEC data.
At least 410,639 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina since March and 6,816 have died, according to state health officials.
The Upstate continues to outpace other regions of the state with new cases with Greenville and Spartanburg counties having 239 and 122 new cases respectively, DHEC reported.
Richland and Lexington counties had 135 and 90 new cases respectively. Charleston County had 173 new cases.
Hospitalizations continue to decline as well with 1,600 people in the hospital with the virus, according DHEC. Nearly 80% of the state’s regular and intensive care beds are being used.
As of Saturday, South Carolina has received 779,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine and has administered 503,913 doses, DHEC reported. More than 405,000 more people have scheduled appointments to get the vaccine.
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 also be eligible to book vaccination appointments and receive doses.
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.
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 11:55 AM.