SC sees more than 1,100 new confirmed coronavirus cases
South Carolina health officials reported Thursday that 1,106 more people tested positive for the coronavirus across the state, bringing the statewide total number of identified cases to 28,962.
Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also reported eight more South Carolinians died after contracting COVID-19. The statewide death toll has now reached 691.
The announcement comes after the state broke its record for the largest single-day increase in cases Wednesday, after DHEC confirmed almost 1,300 cases.
Which counties were affected?
Charleston County saw the largest increase in cases with 208. It was followed by Greenville and Horry counties, which each had 126 new confirmed cases.
In Richland County, officials found 69 new cases, and in nearby Lexington County, they identified 47.
Four of the people who died after contracting COVID-19 were elderly, and came from Chesterfield, Dillon, Lexington and York counties. Four were middle-aged, and came from Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Lee counties.
How are hospitals being impacted?
More of South Carolina’s about 10,500 hospital beds have been filled as COVID-19 case counts rise.
On Thursday, the state saw a record number of beds filled by coronavirus patients, and on Tuesday, the number of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients shot up by nearly 100 in a day.
As of Thursday, 881 of the 7,842 occupied hospital beds were being used by coronavirus patients.
In all hospitals across the state are at about 75.4% capacity.
Locally, hospitals are experiencing a higher shortage of beds. In Lexington County, 91.9% of beds are occupied, and in Richland County, 77.7% are in use.
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimate that as much as 86% of all coronavirus cases go undiagnosed or untested, meaning that as of Thursday, a total of 206,900 people likely contracted the virus since March.
DHEC has also started to track what they consider to be probable cases or probable deaths. A probable case is someone who has not received lab test results, but has coronavirus symptoms or a positive antibody test, according to DHEC’s definition. A probable death would be someone whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death or a contributing factor, but has not received a lab test.
On Thursday, state health officials reported they identified three new probable cases and two new probable deaths.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
South Carolina has seen record daily coronavirus case counts each day for the last nearly three weeks, an indicator that the virus’ activity is increasing dramatically.
Last week, daily case numbers fell between 577 and 1,157 each day. The week before, DHEC counted between 434 and 802 cases per day.
Along with the number of cases identified each day, state health officials use the percentage of tests that turn up positive to gauge the coronavirus’ rate of spread. That number has risen over the last 28 days.
On Thursday, DHEC reported that about 16.9% of tests turned up positive. That number is similar to what health officials saw in March and early April.
At its lowest point, in May, the percentage of positive tests fell between 2-4% on average.
Why are case numbers up?
State health officials say the increase could be due to more people leaving their homes and fewer practicing social distancing and wearing a mask.
“Quite frankly, it’s troubling that not enough people are taking this pandemic seriously,” state epidemiologist Linda Bell told reporters Wednesday.
Starting April 20, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has gradually reopened businesses, including restaurants, retailers, beaches and close contact businesses such as gyms and salons. The Columbia Republican pushed to open some attractions as well by Memorial Day.
The governor has also said that he does not plan to reimpose or add new restrictions on businesses or require residents to wear masks, adding that it’s South Carolinians’ individual responsibility to practice social distancing.
On Tuesday, McMaster announced the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association would be starting a new program that would give restaurants decals to show they are following precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or DHEC.
Local officials in Columbia have taken their own steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Tuesday, the city council voted to require residents to wear masks while in public and for employees of all businesses to wear masks as well.
On Wednesday, Bell told reporters a statewide mask requirement would better slow the spread of COVID-19.
How is DHEC’s testing plan impacting case numbers?
While DHEC officials have said their increased testing strategy could be driving up the number of identified cases each day, Bell said Wednesday that it is not the sole reason for the increase.
“Doing testing doesn’t create new cases,” Bell said Wednesday. “When we test, we’re finding cases that are already out there.”
While case numbers have increased dramatically, testing stayed relatively steady from May 10 to June 13, when labs across the state completed about 35,000 tests a week. From June 14 to June 20, though, labs completed about 44,300 tests.
In all, labs have completed 370,794 tests since March.
On Monday, state health officials announced that they would be increasing their monthly testing goal. They hope to complete about 140,000 tests each month in June, July and August, and hope to reach 165,000 tests a month by the end of the year.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 2:07 PM with the headline "SC sees more than 1,100 new confirmed coronavirus cases."
