The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) announced another large spike in positive coronavirus cases on Sunday.
According to the latest numbers, there are now 774 total COVID-19 cases in 40 counties after 113 were reported on Sunday. Although, we have frequently pointed out the numbers released by SCDHEC do not represent a complete picture of the spread of the virus in the Palmetto State.
Not all data from private labs is included, and SCDHEC has acknowledged that supply shortages have severely limited its testing capabilities. Also, not everyone experiencing potential coronavirus symptoms is getting testing – and beyond that, we keep hearing from many South Carolinians who believe they had the virus long before governments in this country began tracking cases.
SCDHEC officials noted for days they lacked testing supplies and had a backlog of more than 1,000 tests to go through on Friday. Over the weekend, officials reported that they received a shipment of testing supplies.
State health officials also announced one additional death on Sunday. An elderly person from Horry County, South Carolina was the Palmetto State’s 16th victim.
“Today’s announcement is a solemn reminder of how serious this disease is. It has challenged us as individuals and as a state and it has taken the lives of our neighbors and loved ones,” Dr. Jonathan Knoche, DHEC physician, said in the agency’s press release. “We’re all in this together, and it is incumbent upon all of us to take action to stop the spread of COVID-19. If you can, we encourage you to please stay home and limit your close contact with others.”
Charleston County — the state’s third most populous county — remains the epicenter for the third day in the row with 117 total positive cases. Richland County — the second most populous county — also is the No. 2 county for coronavirus cases with 95 cases.
Kershaw County — a much smaller county that was ground zero for the illness in South Carolina — has 83 cases.
Here are the counties that reported positive cases on Sunday:
- Aiken County: 2 cases
- Anderson County: 5 cases
- Beaufort County: 11 cases
- Calhoun County: 1 case
- Charleston County: 8 cases
- Clarendon County: 9 cases
- Darlington County: 2 cases
- Edgefield County: 1 case
- Florence County: 1 case
- Georgetown County: 4 cases
- Greenville County: 14 cases
- Horry County: 3 cases
- Kershaw County: 5 cases
- Lancaster County: 4 cases
- Laurens County: 1 case
- Lexington County: 5 cases
- Marlboro County: 1 case
- Oconee County: 1 case
- Orangeburg County: 2 cases
- Pickens County: 1 case
- Richland County: 17 cases
- Spartanburg County: 4 cases
- Sumter County: 6 cases
- York County: 5 cases
As we reported earlier, South Carolina ranked No. 48 out of fifty states when it came to the true number of citizens getting tested, according to a new “viral database” – CovidTracking.com – as of Sunday afternoon South Carolina.
According to the data, for every 100,000 South Carolina residents only 75 have been tested for the virus. Only two states – Oklahoma (40 tests per 100,000 residents) and Delaware (27 tests per 100,000) – featured lower testing levels than the Palmetto State.
As of Sunday, 3,587 people have tested negative for coronavirus in South Carolina, according to DHEC’s data.
On Friday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order for visitors from identified coronavirus hot spots and said it is still not necessary to order a mandatory shelter-in-place lockdown for residents.
Visitors coming to South Carolina from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New Orleans must quarantine for 14 days, McMaster said Friday in a press conference.
He said those who violate the order will face 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. It is not yet clear how he will enforce it.
“We hope the visitors will be as responsible as the people of South Carolina have been in following the recommendations and requirements,” McMaster said.
The average age for COVID-19 cases in South Carolina is 52 years old. A 2-month old is the youngest case, while a 93-year-old is the oldest.
Similar to the CDC’s data from 4,226 cases, 39 percent of patients in South Carolina are over the age of 61 (compared to 36 percent in the U.S. between 65 and 84 years old).
Adults between 21 and 40 years old made up 21 percent of cases in South Carolina, which is very close to the CDC’s national data that showed 20 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. were between 20-44 years old.
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