SC almost tops daily COVID record again, adding nearly 13,000 new cases and six deaths

South Carolina nearly topped its single-day record for coronavirus cases again on Friday, adding nearly 13,000 more cases and six deaths.

It’s the second highest total recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Friday’s numbers come a day after the state shattered its single-day record high with more than 13,320 new cases. What’s more, the state reported a weekly record-high number of cases this week and back-to-back all-time highs for daily cases over the weekend.

The CDC announced Wednesday that the omicron variant makes up an estimated 95% of all COVID-19 cases around the country, while the delta variant makes up the remaining 5%.

In the days prior to Thanksgiving, the state averaged fewer than 600 new cases per day, which included a low of 259 cases on Nov. 24, and no days over 1,000 cases. Since then, there has been a surge to nearly 10,000 new cases per day — the highest at any point during the pandemic.

The recent explosion in new coronavirus infections across the state is coinciding with extremely long wait times at some COVID-19 testing sites, a shortage of at-home tests available at some pharmacies, and delays for many people awaiting their test results.

Of the 12,996 new cases reported on Friday, at least 3,620 were listed as “probable” rather than confirmed. That brings the state’s total COVID-19 case count to more than 1,048,000 since March 2020. The state health department says cases reported come from testing completed two days earlier.

The state conducted about 42,790 tests for Friday’s data, with 29.3% coming back positive.

About 40% of the new cases were people age 30 and under. Children 10 and younger made up 8% of the new cases, while 15% of the cases were diagnosed in people between the ages of 11-20. At the earlier height of the pandemic between December 2019 and February 2020, only 5.8% of positive cases were kids 10 and under.

DHEC officials have recommended that all eligible children ages 12 and up receive a booster Pfizer vaccine five months after their second dose to become “maximally vaccinated.” Pfizer boosters were previously recommended for children ages 16 and up. All eligible adults who are fully vaccinated — two shots — are encouraged to get booster vaccines as well to help fight off the virus.

While case counts are up, the death rate is lower than at some earlier points in the pandemic. The six new deaths reported Friday bring the statewide death toll to 14,746. More than 400 people have died of COVID-19 in South Carolina over the past month, the lowest monthly total since August.

The vast majority of the new cases are people who are unvaccinated.

There have been 566 deaths — 0.0223% of all cases — as of Jan. 7 from “breakthrough” cases, meaning an infected person is fully vaccinated with at least two doses. The majority of deaths — 59% — are people age 71 and up. About 61.5% of those who died had comorbid conditions. An estimated 1.2641% of all fully vaccinated people have been infected, while nearly 0.0726% of fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized.

Health officials recommend wearing a face mask and getting the coronavirus vaccine to help limit the spread of the virus.

South Carolina has one of the the country’s lowest rates of full vaccination status — people with two vaccine shots — among its eligible population, at an estimated 52%.

Andrew Caplan

The State

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Andrew Caplan is a watchdog journalist who hails from Florida. He comes to The State Media Company after winning several statewide awards for investigative work covering elected officials, as well as public and government entities. He holds a master’s degree from the University of South Florida.