COVID-19 spread, record hospitalizations in South Carolina rising ahead of 2021
The COVID-19 spread and hospitalizations due to the virus are continuing to rise in South Carolina, despite the state’s health agency reporting Monday the lowest number of new coronavirus cases in the state since the start of December.
On Monday, the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 1,540 more South Carolinians tested positive for the virus and 18 died after contracting it. It was the lowest daily case count the state had recorded since Dec. 1 when it logged 1,297 new cases.
Since, the state’s health agency has documented more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases a day most days.
But, of the 5,397 South Carolinians tested, Monday DHEC officials noted that 28.5% of tests reported came back positive, which is high.
That figure indicates the level of virus spread in a community. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization advised governments not to lift restrictions until the percent positive rate were at or below 5% for at least two weeks.
Since South Carolina’s first reports of positive COVID-19 cases in March, state health officials have documented 275,285 coronavirus cases and 4,782 deaths.
DHEC also reported Monday 29 new probable cases and no probable deaths, bringing the total number of probable cases to 22,765 and probable deaths to 391.
DHEC defines a probable case as someone who has had a positive antigen test or has virus symptoms and is at high risk of infection. Probable deaths are those 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.
South Carolina continues to see large numbers of people needing to be hospitalized due to COVID-19.
On Monday, health officials reported that a record 1,867 patients in hospitals have or are suspected of having the virus, making up 23.1% of patients statewide.
As COVID-19 vaccine distribution remains in its nascent stages, health officials have advised South Carolinians to continue taking measures to slow the spread of the virus, such as wearing masks, avoiding group gatherings and practicing social distancing.
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 show no symptoms.
To find a testing location near you, visit DHEC’s website at scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations.
How are hospitals being impacted?
More than 1,800 South Carolinians remain hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, a record high since the start of the pandemic.
Of those hospitalized with the virus Monday, 380 patients were in intensive care units and 175 were on ventilators.
Though total hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy has remained at nearly 80% since early December, those figures fell to about 75% Monday.
In Richland County, 65% of hospital beds were occupied Monday and nearly 93% of Lexington County’s beds were taken, data show.
Which counties were affected?
The Upstate continued to see a sharp increase in cases Monday.
Greenville County recorded 228 new cases, Spartanburg County reported 153 new cases and Anderson County reported an increase of 70 cases, DHEC said.
Other parts of the state have not been spared from the latest surge.
In the Midlands, Richland County reported 105 new positive cases and Lexington County reported 79.
In the Pee Dee region, Horry County documented an increase of 192 COVID-19 cases.
York County also reported an increase of 70 cases.
The state’s health agency reported 18 new COVID-19 deaths on Monday. Most were elderly — ages 65 and older — South Carolinians.
The following counties recorded deaths due to the virus: Aiken (1), Anderson (1), Beaufort (1), Chesterfield (1), Darlington (1), Florence (2), Lancaster (1), Lexington (4), Marion (2), Pickens (2) and Richland (2).
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Although the majority of South Carolinians do recover from COVID-19 after their diagnosis, the state’s daily case rates are still up almost 96% in the past month and are the highest they’ve ever been.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have topped 1,000 statewide for the past three weeks, according to DHEC.
And the number of people being tested across the state has shot up over the past 30 days, with an average of 222 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last month, a 40% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of about 20% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, more than 3.5 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 1:56 PM with the headline "COVID-19 spread, record hospitalizations in South Carolina rising ahead of 2021."
