The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) released updated data on Thursday (July 30, 2020) concerning the status of the coronavirus pandemic within the Palmetto State.
The state’s case fatality rate has continued to tick upward this week — from 1.61 last week to 1.83 percent this week. The good news is that South Carolina is still well below the United States case fatality rate at 3.37 percent.
First, the data …
New Positive Cases: 1,636 (20 probable)
Daily Percent Positive Rate: 21.5 percent
Total Positive Cases: 87,117 (455 probable)
New Deaths: 48 (8 probable)
Total Deaths: 1,600 (67 probable)
Case Fatality Rate: 1.83 percent
Hospital Bed Utilization: N/A
Covid-19 Hospitalizations: 1,563
Covid-19 Patients In ICU: 389
Covid-19 Patients On Ventilators: 245
Recovery Rate: 90 Percent
The recovery rate has improved in July. Here’s more info on how DHEC determines the recovery rate.
There has been no change in the projected death toll since our last report on that subject – with the ever-vacillating Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) standing pat on its July 22, 2020 estimate of 3,186 total deaths by November 1.
Of the 48 newly reported deaths (.pdf) – which spanned from July 19 to July 28 – 11 were listed as “middle-aged,” which DHEC considers between the ages of 35 and 64, and the rest were classified as “elderly,” or over 65.
Here is our updated chart tracking Covid-19 deaths …
(Via: Mandy Matney)
More than half of all COVID-19 deaths in South Carolina were reported in July. So far, SC health officials have reported 870 COVID-19 deaths in July — more than all of the other months combined.
And here is our updated chart tracking tests and cases …
As you can see from the chart above, South Carolina’s testing efforts have decreased in the last few weeks.
Three weeks ago, SC was averaging about 9,000 tests per day. One week ago, it was averaging 8,500 tests per day. This week, S.C. is averaging around 8,000 tests per day.
For hospitalizations, SCDHEC did not provide this data from July 24-27, 2020 – which the agency blamed on a federally mandated switch from a reporting system administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to a “TeleTracking” system administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“DHEC is working with the S.C. Hospital Association to create a new process for gathering inpatient bed availability and occupancy from each hospital in the state, as this is the reporting metric that best provides the number of hospital beds available for caring for adult COVID-19 patients,” DHEC officials said Wednesday.
Here is our latest chart on hospitalizations …
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued several executive orders Wednesday — to include reopening of all remaining businesses and implementing enforceable laws for restaurants.
In Wednesday’s press conference, McMaster reopened concert halls, stadiums, spectator sport venues, amphitheaters, gymnasiums and movie theaters starting Monday Aug. 3 with certain restrictions that will be enforceable by local and state law enforcement.
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