For the fifth straight day since the state made coronavirus testing more available, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Services (SCDHEC) reported another sharp rise in cases.
The state’s total now stands at 60 cases across 14 counties.
Beaufort County – where one-third of the population is older than 60 – reported two new cases on Wednesday, which brings its total to six cases. The Lowcountry county – which is home to Hilton Head Island and the recently cancelled RBC Heritage PGA Tour tournament – reported its first cases on Saturday and has seen a steady increase since then.
The geographic dispersal of cases is concerning considering elderly residents have the highest mortality rates associated with the coronavirus. While the mortality rate for coronavirus is around 2.3 percent, it’s around 14.8 percent for people over 80. The median age in Beaufort county is 45.5 years old, while South Carolina’s median age is 38.8 years old.
At least one of the cases in Beaufort county was in Sun City Hilton Head, a 55-and-older community, according to The Hilton Head Island Packet.
Kershaw county, S.C. remains the epicenter of the pandemic with a total of 25 cases, with three reported Wednesday.
Richland county also saw a spike Wednesday with three new cases.
Per SCDHEC, here is a breakdown of cases by county:
- Kershaw County: 25
- Beaufort County : 6
- Horry County: 5
- Charleston County: 4
- Richland County: 4
- Lancaster County: 3
- Lexington County: 3
- Anderson County: 2
- Greenville County: 1
- Spartanburg County: 1
- York County: 1
- Calhoun County: 1
- Fairfield County: 1
- Lee County: 1
South Carolina has reported 583 negative COVID-19 tests as of Wednesday afternoon.
Also on Wednesday, SCDHEC released a map showing the new cases.
(Click to view)
(Via: SCDHEC)
Worth noting as we track these numbers? A study released Monday in the journal Science reports that six out of seven cases in China were not reported before travel restrictions went into effect. Experts across the globe widely agree that most COVID-19 cases go unreported, especially in the early stages of the pandemic.
Yesterday, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order closing dine-in services at restaurants and bars across South Carolina amid the 2019-2020 coronavirus. The order was issued on the same day as the state’s largest one-day increase — a jump of 14 cases. On Monday South Carolina reported its first official COVID-19 death – an elderly woman from Lexington county.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 2019-nCoV had infected 207,860 people in 166 countries, killing 8,657 of them – according to the latest statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States, the virus had infected 7,048 people in all fifty states – killing 116 of them – according to a database maintained by The New York Times.
In South Carolina, there have been 60 cases with one fatality, according to the latest statistics provided by government health officials.
Though there is no vaccination or treatment for coronavirus, data from China shows that 81 percent of the cases were mild and didn’t require hospitalization.
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