After two straight days of reporting less than 100 daily coronavirus cases, state health officials announced more than 200 new cases on Thursday.
According to the latest update from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), there were 214 additional coronavirus cases reported since the data released on Thursday. That brings the statewide total to 7,142 cases since data first began being collected in March.
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State health officials also reported 11 additional COVID-19 related deaths Thursday, bringing the total number of death to 316 this year.
“Seven of the 11 deaths occurred in elderly individuals in Darlington (1), Kershaw (2), Lexington (1), Richland (2), and Williamsburg (1) counties. Four of the deaths occurred in middle-aged individuals from Allendale (1), Fairfield (1), Richland (1) and Williamsburg (1) counties,” SCDHEC officials said Thursday.
Across the state, 484 COVID-19 patients “who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19” are occupying hospital beds. Less than a week ago, 311 COVID-19 patients occupied SC hospital beds.
“As of this morning, 3,345 inpatient hospital beds are available and 6,674 are in use, which is a 66.61% statewide hospital bed utilization rate,” the news release said.
Richland County — the state’s second most populous county has reported the highest number of deaths in the state with 52 deaths. Greenville County, the most populous county in the state, ranked second with 42 reported fatalities.
So far, South Carolina has conducted 73,442 coronavirus tests and 70,546 tests were negative.
On Wednesday, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster announced plans to ramp up testing in the Palmetto State – which has consistently ranked near the bottom of the national barrel on this key public health metric.
As of Wednesday afternoon, South Carolina ranked No. 44 nationally in testing frequency – with 1,583 completed tests per 100,000 citizens.
On Friday, McMaster issued an executive order Friday lifting his previously imposed “home or work” mandate and allowing restaurants to reopen outdoor dining services starting Monday.
This week, SC restaurants can reopen as long as they follow a list of guidelines such as spacing tables eight feet apart.
On Friday, McMaster also removed previous orders on short-term rentals that had banned people from COVID-19 hotspots (including the New York tri-state area). Visitors from those areas no longer have to self- quarantine for the next two weeks, McMaster said Friday.
According to the latest projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a leading model for COVID-19, an estimated 1,112 South Carolinians will die from coronavirus by August.
The average age for a South Carolina COVID-19 patient is 50.7 years old. An estimated 81 percent of all COVID-19 patients have recovered from the illness so far.
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