COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina health officials Friday reported 1,079 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 36 deaths from the virus.
Just under 6% of the 26,486 COVID-19 tests reported Friday returned positive results, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. That's in the low end of the range the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider "moderate" transmission.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which have declined significantly since mid-January, dropped Friday to 664, their lowest point in five months.
Since March of last year, the state has reported 448,275 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7,697 deaths from the virus.
South Carolina counts an additional 74,983 cases, including 277 Friday, as probable positives. They also count another 1,002 deaths, including five Friday, as probable COVID-19 deaths.
DHEC defines a probable case as someone who has had a positive antigen test or has virus symptoms and is at high risk for infection. Probable deaths are ones where the death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause of or a contributing factor to death, but the person was not tested for the virus.
The state has reported a cumulative total of 523,258 probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,699 probable and confirmed deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of Friday, South Carolina had received 748,580 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine and 588,400 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency reported Friday that 450,820 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 239,391 first doses of the Moderna vaccine had been administered so far. Another 231,879 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 94,923 second doses of the Moderna vaccine also have been administered.
Administrations of the Moderna vaccine currently lag behind Pfizer administrations because Moderna shots had originally been used exclusively to vaccinate long-term care facility residents and staff as part of a federal pharmacy partnership. In recent weeks, the Moderna vaccine, which does not have the same ultra-cold storage requirements as the Pfizer vaccine, has been shipped to pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and other providers, and its uptake is expected to increase.
Health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, and all people age 65 and older are currently eligible to receive vaccinations. Starting Monday, anyone 55 and older, people 16 to 54 with certain preexisting conditions and frontline workers with increased occupational exposure, like teachers and law enforcement, will be eligible for vaccinations.
In addition to the more than 1 million first and second vaccine doses that have been administered, South Carolinians have scheduled an additional 541,000 vaccination appointments, DHEC said.
The state also received its first shipment of roughly 41,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses this week, although DHEC has not yet reported that any have been administered. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, also known as the Janssen vaccine, received emergency use authorization on Feb. 27. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that require a two-dose regimen, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose.
Anyone eligible to receive a vaccine who would like to get one can use DHEC's locator tool to find a provider with availability near you at www.scdhec.gov/vaxlocator. For those who lack internet access, DHEC has launched a phone line at 866-365-8110.
State health officials advise South Carolinians to continue taking measures to mitigate spread of COVID-19 as the vaccination rollout progresses in the months ahead.
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.
How are hospitals being impacted?
The number of COVID-19 inpatients statewide dropped Friday to 664, 73% lower than their peak of 2,466 in mid-January. Coronavirus patients account for 7.5% of all hospital inpatients.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 163 are in intensive care units, and 88 are on ventilators, according to DHEC.
Total hospital bed occupancy, which has hovered around 80% for months, was at 78% Friday, while ICU bed occupancy was 72%, data show.
In Richland County, 73% of hospital beds were occupied Friday, and in Lexington County, 85% of beds are being used, data show.
Of the 36 confirmed deaths reported Friday, 30 people were 65 and older and six people were middle-aged individuals (ages 35-64), according to DHEC.
South Carolinians from infancy to age 106 have died after contracting COVID-19, but the disease has taken the greatest toll on 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 — 88% — were over 60, data show.
How is COVID-19 trending in SC?
Daily case rates have dropped significantly in recent weeks, down 56% from the month prior, with 38 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus deaths reached a record weekly high in late January and have since been on the decline, according to DHEC. The agency has reported 1,367 virus deaths, or about 16% of the state's cumulative death total, in the last 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped dramatically after reaching record highs in January. The number of coronavirus inpatients reported Friday is about 44% less than the average reported daily over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state has declined markedly in the past month. An average of 510 tests per 100,000 individuals have been performed daily over the last 30 days, about 21% less than the month prior, data show.
The state's 30-day COVID-19 positivity rate, which provides an idea of how widespread infection is in a testing area, has been dropping and is now down to 8.1%. The seven-day positivity rate is 5.6%.
Elevated percent positive rates indicate more people are likely infected with COVID-19 in the community who have not yet been tested and that testing may need to be ramped up.
The World Health Organization last year advised governments not to reopen until percent positive rates were at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
More than 11% 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 above the WHO's guidelines for reopening.
How does SC compare to other states?
South Carolina continues to be one of the states hardest hit by COVID-19, but has made significant progress in comparison to other states over the past week, according to a weekly report published by the federal government.
South Carolina, which for the past month had ranked near the top of the list in all coronavirus infection-related categories, is now in the top 10 only for its new cases per capita, according to the White House COVID-19 team's state profile report, which provides a weekly snapshot of COVID-19 cases, deaths, test positivity and other factors at the county level for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
From Feb. 20-26, the state ranked fifth in new COVID-19 cases per capita; 11th in coronavirus test positivity; 15th in COVID-19 hospital admissions; and 37th in new COVID-19 deaths per capita, according to the report.
Only sixteen of the state's 46 counties are still considered COVID-19 red zones, based on their rates of new cases and test positivity, the report found. Last week, 42 of the state's counties were in the red.
