COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the first time in three days, less than 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Sunday in South Carolina by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Health officials confirmed 3,667 new positive tests, 48 more coronavirus-related deaths.
Since testing began in March, 323,855 cases of the coronavirus and 5,315 deaths have been reported in South Carolina, data shows.
Sunday's data is based on 12,821 tests, and the percent positive was 28.6%, according to DHEC. That is the first time in a week that the percent positive did not exceed 30%. Thursday's percent positive of 34.2% is the record for highest in a single day since testing began.
Last year, the World Health Organization advised governments not to reopen until percent positive rates were at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
Roughly 16% of all COVID-19 tests administered in South Carolina since last March have come back positive, according to DHEC. The state's seven-day percent positive rate briefly dipped below 5% in mid-May but has otherwise remained well above the WHO's guidelines for reopening.
The most new cases reported in a single day was the 4,986 positive tests that DHEC confirmed on Friday. Other than that, Saturday's total of 4,576 also surpassed all other single-day reports.
Since Dec. 27, there have been six times where more than 4,000 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in a single day, the data shows. Prior to the surge in December and January, the previous single-day record was 2,343 cases confirmed on July 18.
Sunday marked the 55th consecutive day that more than 1,000 positive tests were confirmed in South Carolina, dating back to Nov. 16 when DHEC reported 981 new cases. Health officials reported more than 3,000 daily cases 16 times, and 36 of the past 38 days have seen more than 2,000 positive tests confirmed, the data shows.
On Jan. 2, 84 deaths were reported by DHEC, the most deaths reported on a single day in South Carolina.
How many vaccinations have been administered?
Health officials said Sunday that South Carolina had received 232,900 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine and that 97,478 of those doses had been administered, according to DHEC.
The majority of the doses received, or 146,500, are Pfizer-BioNTech doses that have gone to frontline health care workers and community first responders. Of the vaccinations administered, 68,027 have been first doses, while 12,359 more are second doses, according to DHEC.
The other 86,400 are Moderna doses that have been reserved for long-term care facility residents and staff. To date, 11.076 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to residents, while 6,016 have been given to staff, data shows.
Another 94,926 people have made appointments for vaccinations.
In an effort to speed up vaccinations, the pace of which some lawmakers have criticized, DHEC announced plans to make it easier for the elderly to receive coronavirus vaccines.
The agency said hospitals should now offer vaccinations to inpatients who are 65 and older who don't have COVID-19.
As South Carolina's vaccine rollout continues, state health officials have advised residents to continue taking measures to mitigate spread of COVID-19.
DHEC urges anyone who is symptomatic or who has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to get tested themselves and recommends routine monthly testing for anyone who is out and about in the community, even if they are asymptomatic.
To find a testing location near you, visit DHEC's website at scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations.
Which counties were affected?
COVID-19 cases in the Upstate continue to surge, and the area had the most new cases Sunday.
Greenville led all counties with 761 new COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg County with 479 more, according to DHEC.
The Upstate's seven-day average of new cases is more than 1,560, four times what it was in early November, according to DHEC.
Greenville County, the state's most populous county, has reported more than twice as many cases as any other county in South Carolina over the past month.
In the Midlands, Richland County reported 158 new cases and Lexington County 227.
That brings the number of confirmed cases in Richland County to 26,764 and in Lexington County to 17,505.
Of the deaths reported Sunday, 38 were elderly individuals (65 and older) and 10 were middle-aged (35-64), — including one in Lexington County, according to DHEC. The other middle-aged deaths were reported in Greenville (3), Barnwell, Calhoun, Fairfield, Greenwood, Spartanburg, and Williamsburg counties.
COVID-19 has taken the greatest toll on South Carolina's elderly residents.
The average age of all South Carolinians who have died from coronavirus complications is 75, and the vast majority of those who died — 87% — were over 60, the data shows.
Four of the elderly deaths reported Sunday were in Richland County, with the others confirmed in Greenville (9), Spartanburg (7), Anderson (2), Georgetown (2), Greenwood (2), Pickens (2), Aiken, Barnwell, Cherokee, Clarendon, Florence, Horry, Laurens, Oconee, Orangeburg, and Union counties.
Overall, 332 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Richland County, while the death toll increased to 279 in Lexington County, according to DHEC.
How are hospitals being impacted?
The number of people hospitalized statewide for COVID-19 Sunday was 2,374. It marks the 12th consecutive day where more than 2,000 people with COVID-19 are being cared for in a South Carolina hospital, according to health officials.
Prior to the recent winter surge, hospitalizations for COVID-19 previously peaked at 1,723 on July 23, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus patients made up 25.8% of all reported inpatients in South Carolina on Sunday, data shows.
Nearly 19.5% of COVID-19 patients, or 464 people, are in intensive care units, and nearly 10.5%, or 250 patients, are on ventilators.
Of the 13,368 hospital beds available in South Carolina, 9,199 inpatient beds are currently occupied, health officials said. There are currently 1,419 of 1,740 ICU beds occupied, or 81.5%, according to DHEC.
In Richland County, 845 hospital beds are occupied (77.5%), and 245 are available, while 504 of 535 hospital beds in Lexington County (94.2%) are occupied, data shows.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates are easily the highest they've ever been, up nearly 90% in the past month, with 67 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have also been increasing rapidly, with Sunday's numbers more than 40% higher than they've been on average over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state is also rising. An average of 234 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, a 22% increase from the month prior, data shows.
An average of 25.4% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days, far higher than the state's cumulative 16.3% positivity rate.
Overall, 4,033,815 tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
Are all cases accounted for?
Across the country, health experts said official case counts have likely under-counted the number of cases to large degrees. At one point, South Carolina officials estimated that 86% of those infected never got tested or diagnosed, but they no longer provide those estimates.
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 Sunday, DHEC reported 80 new probable COVID-19 cases in the state, and five new probable deaths. That puts the total number of probable cases at 30,670 and total probable deaths at 496, data shows.
