SC reports fewer than 500 COVID-19 cases for first time in 5 months Tuesday
South Carolina health officials Tuesday reported fewer than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases for the first time in five months.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 496 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths from the virus. The last time the daily number of cases dropped below 500 was Oct. 2, according to DHEC.
While the daily cases represent a five-month low, they come on a day when about half the typical number of people were tested.
Still, only 4.6% of the 14,821 COVID-19 tests reported Tuesday returned positive results, according to DHEC, making it the second straight day test positivity was below the 5% rate the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider “low” transmission.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which have declined steadily since mid-January, dropped again Tuesday to 706, their lowest point in more than four months.
Since March of last year, the state has reported 445,523 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7,606 deaths from the virus.
South Carolina counts an additional 73,300 cases, including 96 Tuesday, as probable positives. They also count another 970 deaths, including one Tuesday, 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.
The state has reported a cumulative total of 518,823 probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,576 probable and confirmed deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Vaccines distributed
As of Tuesday, South Carolina had received 704,120 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and 588,400 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency reported Tuesday that 441,285 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 225,233 first doses of the Moderna vaccine had been administered so far. Another 223,992 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 85,215 second doses of the Moderna vaccine also have been administered.
Administrations of the Moderna vaccine currently lag behind Pfizer administrations because Moderna shots had originally 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, and all people age 65 and older are currently eligible to receive vaccinations. Starting Monday, anyone 55 and older, people 16 to 64 with certain pre-existing conditions and frontline workers with increased occupational exposure, like teachers and law enforcement will be eligible to be inoculated.
In addition to the 976,000 first and second vaccine doses that have been administered, South Carolinians have scheduled another 525,000 vaccination appointments, DHEC said.
The state also received its first shipment of roughly 41,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses this week, although DHEC has not yet reported that any have been administered. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, also known as the Janssen vaccine, received emergency use authorization over the weekend. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that require a two-dose regimen, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose.
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 has 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?
The number of COVID-19 inpatients statewide dropped Tuesday to 706, 71% lower than their peak of 2,466 in mid-January. Coronavirus patients account for 8.4% of all hospital inpatients.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 190 are in intensive care units, and 86 are on ventilators, according to DHEC.
Total hospital bed occupancy, which has hovered around 80% for months, was at 75% Tuesday, while ICU bed occupancy was 71%, data show.
In Richland County, 67% of hospital beds were occupied Tuesday, and in Lexington County, 73% of beds are full, data show.
Which counties were affected?
COVID-19 cases have fallen significantly in all regions over the past month, but remain highest in the Upstate by a small margin.
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 three months.
In the Upstate Tuesday, Greenville again led all counties with 67 COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg County with 24 cases, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands remain just below the Upstate’s numbers. York led all Midlands counties Tuesday with 31 cases, followed by Richland with 24 and Lexington with 22.
The number of positive tests in the state’s Pee Dee and Lowcountry regions are below the Upstate and the Midlands, and have returned to pre-holiday season levels.
Horry County’s 54 confirmed COVID-19 cases were most in the PeeDee Tuesday, while Charleston County’s 37 cases were most in the Lowcountry.
Of the 13 confirmed deaths reported Tuesday, 12 were elderly (65 and older) and one was a middle-aged individual (ages 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 — 88% — were over 60, data show.
The deaths reported Tuesday included three Lexington County residents; two residents each in Horry and Lancaster counties; and a single resident each in Anderson, Cherokee, Colleton, Greenwood, Kershaw and Spartanburg counties.
How are schools and long-term care facilities affected?
More than 700 COVID-19 cases in the past week are associated with schools.
State health officials, who report school-related cases twice weekly, documented 554 cases among students and 170 cases among staff between Feb. 23 and March 1.
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 13,670 school-related COVID-19 cases have been reported since Sept. 4, DHEC said.
Another 445 COVID-19 cases and 21 coronavirus deaths in the last week are associated with long-term care facilities, data show.
Facility residents account for 232 of the cases and all of the deaths, with the remaining 213 cases affecting staff members.
As of Tuesday, long-term care facilities had reported more than 800 COVID-19 cases and 38 deaths in the last month, a 62% decrease in cases and a 72% drop 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 445,000 COVID-19 cases, but about 25% of its virus deaths, data show.
Since last March, South Carolina has reported more than 19,000 cases and 1,890 deaths associated with long-term care facilities. Residents have accounted for more than 60% 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 significantly in recent weeks, down 56% from the month prior, with 39 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus deaths, which lag behind cases, reached a record weekly high in late January and have since been on the decline, according to DHEC. The agency has reported 1,554 virus deaths, or about 18% of the state’s cumulative death total, in the last 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped substantially after reaching record highs in January. The number of coronavirus inpatients reported Tuesday is about 46% less than the average reported daily over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state has declined markedly in the past month. An average of 527 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, about 19% less than the month prior, data show.
The state’s 30-day COVID-19 positivity rate, which provides an idea of how widespread infection is in a testing area, has been dropping and is now down to 8.2%.
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 11% 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 above the WHO’s guidelines for reopening.
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 2:31 PM.