South Carolina reports highest daily COVID case count since July
South Carolina’s daily case count of COVID-19 reached its highest point since July 31 on Friday, with state health officials announcing 1,511 new cases of the novel coronavirus..
The Department of Health and Environmental Control also announced 37 new confirmed deaths related to the virus. Since the global pandemic first reached South Carolina in March, DHEC has recorded 121,378 confirmed cases and 2,706 deaths related to the virus.
After all of August passed without more than 1,400 new cases in a single day, Friday marked a significant jump and pushed the Pametto State’s seven-day rolling average back above 1,000.
DHEC reported Friday’s case count came out of 8,261 individual test results, the highest single-day testing total the state has had since Aug. 20. That equates to 18.3% of tests coming back positive. The World Health Organization suggests 5% should be the standard before countries consider reopening, and DHEC state epidemiologist Linda Bell has cited the same percentage as a goal.
South Carolina’s percentage positive for the calendar week so far is above 18% for the first time in a month. That number is slightly below what health officials reported in June and July, when the state saw its largest spike in COVID-19 cases but also regularly reported more than 10,000 tests per day.
Which counties were affected?
Richland County has seen a surge in cases recently, coinciding with the return of thousands of college students to the University of South Carolina and other campuses. Richland led the state with a record 429 new cases Friday, accounting for nearly one in every three new cases.
Neighboring Lexington County saw 80 new confirmed cases, the highest total it has had in more than a month. Elsewhere across the state, Spartanburg County reported 202 new cases, also a record.
Residents from the following counties died after contracting the virus: Anderson (1), Beaufort (2), Charleston (2), Chesterfield (1), Edgefield (1), Florence (3), Greenwood (3), Hampton (2), Horry (1), Kershaw (2), Lancaster (2), Lexington (2), Oconee (1), Orangeburg (2), Pickens (1), Richland (1), Spartanburg (3), Sumter (3), Union (2) and York (2) .
Of those who died, 34 were elderly, defined as 65 years or older, and three were middle-aged, defined as 35 to 64 years old.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
The number of daily new cases reported in South Carolina hit a high of 2,343 on July 18. In the month after, totals slowly dropped, including a stretch of 13 days in a row under 1,000 towards the end of August.
Ahead of the Labor Day weekend, however, health experts have warned of a possible spike in cases as residents take vacations to crowded beaches and students return to schools.
State health officials have said that the virus’ progression has been slowing significantly in areas with face mask requirements and where residents are practicing social distancing.
However, the overall drop in case numbers can also be attributed in part to labs performing fewer tests, DHEC officials have said. In order to account for that possibility, officials have highlighted the importance of percentage of tests run that come back positive.
Nationally, about 9.1% of tests turn up positive, according to the CDC.
In all, 1,046,613 tests have been completed in South Carolina since March, including 980,037 viral tests and 64,094 antibody tests, which can tell if an individual has been exposed to the virus but cannot confirm an active infection.
Are all cases accounted for?
State health officials estimate that around 86% of South Carolinians who contract the virus don’t get tested.
DHEC has also been recording probable cases and probable deaths. A probable case is someone who has not received a lab test result but has virus symptoms or a positive antibody test. A probable death is someone who has not gotten a lab test but whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death or a contributing factor.
On Friday, state health officials reported 34 new probable cases and two new probable deaths. That brings the total number of probable cases up to 1,947 and total probable deaths to 140.
How are hospitals being impacted?
As of Friday, the state reported 910 patients in South Carolina hospitals have coronavirus, including 230 patients in intensive care and 140 patients on ventilators.
In all, 81.76% of in-patient beds are occupied in S.C. hospitals.
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 4:04 PM with the headline "South Carolina reports highest daily COVID case count since July."
