How many coronavirus tests have been given in Horry County? DHEC isn’t tracking that
As South Carolina officials look to continue reopening businesses, they’ve vowed to increase coronavirus testing efforts, particularly in areas where testing has been minimal, but they don’t appear to be tracking tests administered by location.
The combined efforts of the state’s public health lab and private labs have led to 73,442 COVID-19 tests administered through Thursday, according to state Department of Health and Environmental Control data.
Dr. Joan Duwve, DHEC’s director of public health, said during Wednesday’s press conference that about 1.25 percent of South Carolina residents have been tested, and the goal is to increase testing to 2 percent of the population, about 110,000, per month.
She emphasized the need for universal testing of nursing home residents and staff — which account for 12 percent of cases statewide — and expanding testing in rural and under-resourced minority communities.
When asked for a breakdown of testing by county or area, a spokeswoman for the state’s Emergency Response team responded that she doesn’t believe that information is available.
“However, we know that rural and underserved areas that don’t have easy access to testing tend to have lower numbers of cases due to a lack in testing in general,” she wrote in an email.
Horry County, with 242 confirmed coronavirus cases through Thursday, has one of the state’s highest populations but one of the lowest rates of confirmed cases.
Local officials have expressed concerns about lack of testing, but no one appears to have numbers to back up those concerns.
Debbie Borst, Myrtle Beach’s infectious control nurse, has expressed this concern during recent virtual city council meetings, but wasn’t able to immediately identify any numbers when reached via phone Thursday by The Sun News.
She told The Sun News to seek permission from city spokesman Mark Kruea before commenting further, but Kruea said he doesn’t believe Borst would have the information being sought.
Conway Medical Center has administered 1,169 coronavirus tests and Tidelands Health has given 1,368 tests specifically to Horry County residents, according to data provided by their spokespeople.
A spokeswoman for McLeod Health referred The Sun News to DHEC, and a spokeswoman for Grand Strand Health did not respond to an email seeking testing data.
The county’s estimated population is about 354,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, so DHEC’s 2 percent goal would mean it’s now seeking to test 7,080 residents per month.
DHEC also noted in its latest testing strategy that it hopes to conduct mass testing in urban areas, including centers of tourism and commerce, and it specifically mentioned Myrtle Beach as a city where it could seek to host pop-up testing events. Such events would provide an opportunity to monitor rates of transmission and allow ongoing education about the importance of social distancing, hand washing and wearing a face mask in public.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect fewer coronavirus tests administered in South Carolina. DHEC adjusted their numbers Thursday because of an error in calculations.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 9:47 AM.
