SC would have third-highest COVID-19 rate in world if it were a country, data show

If South Carolina were a country, it would be experiencing the third worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, data show.

Measuring the number of new infections per capita over a seven-day period, June 28 to July 4, Arizona was the most afflicted, followed by Florida, then South Carolina, then the nation of Bahrain, and Louisiana in fifth — solidifying the southern U.S. as the global COVID-19 hot zone — according to New York Times data.

South Carolina averaged 2,300 new daily cases per 1 million residents, placing it above several less wealthy countries and developing nations, according to the figures, which are based on data from Johns Hopkins and local health authorities.

Of the 25 worst, 15 were U.S. states, mostly in the South or Southwest. North Carolina was the best of the worst, coming in at 25, with less than half the daily infection numbers seen by South Carolina.

Roughly 1 in 5 tests in the state are coming back positive, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. As of Wednesday, there have been 48,770 infections and 876 deaths — 38 of which were reported the same day.

At the same time, hospitalizations continue to rise. DHEC says 75.5% of hospital beds are currently occupied.

In an effort to slow the spread and save lives, a growing number of South Carolina cities, towns and counties are passing mandates requiring people to wear masks, The State reported.

Bars, restaurants, beaches and many other non-essential businesses and attractions were reopened weeks ago. Gov. Henry McMaster has said there are no plans to roll back any reopening measures, though the situation has continued to worsen.

“At this point, the answer is individual responsibility, not mandates from the government,” McMaster said in June.

There are 19 counties across the state at the “tipping point” of losing control of the outbreak, according to researchers with the Harvard Global Health Institute.

On July 1, there were 11 counties meeting that level of risk, The State previously reported. Eight more have been added since.

But the picture has become more grim for every other county, too.

The Harvard researchers assign color-coded alert levels based on the number of new infections per capita, ranging from green to yellow to orange to red, with red being the “tipping point,” the worst scenario. At this stage, stay-at-home orders are absolutely necessary to regain control of the outbreak, researchers say.

Orange indicates “accelerated spread,” and stay-at-home orders or “rigorous” test and trace programs are recommended.

Yellow means community spread is ongoing, and testing and tracing programs should be implemented.

Last is green, “on track for containment.” All that’s called for is monitoring with viral testing and continuous contact tracing.

There are no “green” counties in South Carolina, and there are no longer any in yellow, meaning nine counties shifted to orange.

Though South Carolina can point to one or two other states faring worse or just as bad, there’s no call for self-congratulations, Dr. Helmut Albrecht, head of the Department of Internal Medicine at Prisma Health, told ABC News.

“It’s not much better here than it is in Florida or Texas,” Albrecht said. “It has still not plateaued — every week is worse than the last. I don’t think we can set new records anymore.”

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 4:48 PM.