COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the third straight Friday, South Carolina has reported a record number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 3,648 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths from the virus.
That’s 511 more cases than the state’s previous daily record of 3,137, set last Friday.
DHEC has now reported more than 3,000 daily cases in three of the past eight days and more than 2,000 daily cases in 14 of the last 15 days.
Before the recent spike in cases, South Carolina had reported 2,000 or more daily cases only three times, and never on consecutive days.
Nearly one-quarter of the 247,361 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Carolina since March have been recorded in the last 30 days.
During that span, 630 people have died from coronavirus complications, bringing the cumulative death toll to 4,512 according to DHEC.
The state counts another 19,715 cases, including 130 Friday as probable positives, and another 360 deaths, including one 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.
State health officials reported another 14,060 tests Friday, of which 25.9% were positive, the second-highest daily positivity rate reported in South Carolina.
The only time the state reported a higher percent positive rate was Oct. 3, when DHEC officials said the rate was artificially elevated by the processing of delayed electronic lab reports.
The state’s seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate, which provides an idea of how widespread infection is in a testing area, is at its highest point since mid-July.
Elevated percent positive rates indicate there are likely more people 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 earlier this year advised governments not to reopen until percent positive rates were at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
Roughly 14.8% of all COVID-19 tests administered in South Carolina since March have come back positive, according to DHEC. The state’s 7-day percent positive rate briefly dipped below 5% in mid-May, but has otherwise remained well above the WHO’s guidelines for reopening.
Nearly 43,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in South Carolina this week, with additional weekly shipments to follow, according to DHEC.
As of Friday, more than 7,000 front line medical workers already have been vaccinated, the agency said.
Residents and staff of long-term care facilities should begin receiving vaccinations in the next couple weeks, and others who are at increased risk of contracting the virus or are at high risk of experiencing severe complications from it will be prioritized for vaccination over the next several months.
In the meantime, state health officials have advised South Carolinians to continue taking measures to mitigate spread of COVID-19 such as wearing masks, avoiding group gatherings and practicing physical distancing.
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.
How are hospitals being impacted?
DHEC reported 1,460 people hospitalized with COVID-19 Friday, 315 of whom are in intensive care units and 143 of whom are on ventilators.
The total number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is down about 4% from Thursday, but still higher than any other day since early August, data show.
There are 44% more COVID-19 patients in ICUs and 36% more ventilated coronavirus patients than there were a month ago, data show.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 peaked at 1,723 on July 23.
Total hospital bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy have remained around 80% as the number of COVID-19 patients has increased, with 82.6% of the state’s hospital beds and 79.8% of its ICU beds occupied Friday.
In Richland County, 73% of hospital beds are occupied Tuesday, and in Lexington County, 95% of beds are full, data show.
Which counties were affected?
COVID-19 cases in the Upstate are skyrocketing, outpacing all other South Carolina regions.
The Upstate’s 7-day average of cases is more than 1,100, nearly three times what it was early last month and twice what it was in July when cases statewide were spiking, according to DHEC.
Greenville County, the state’s most populous county, has reported twice as many cases as any other county in South Carolina over the past month.
In the Upstate Friday, Greenville again led all counties with 622 COVID-19 cases, followed by Spartanburg County (273, third in the state); Pickens County (150, seventh in the state); and Anderson County (137, eighth in the state), according to DHEC.
COVID-19 cases in the Midlands are below the Upstate’s numbers, but also have surged in recent weeks with Richland (321), Lexington (209) and York (204) counties reporting the second, fourth and fifth highest number of positive tests in the state Friday.
The number of positive tests in the state’s Pee Dee and Lowcountry regions are well below the Upstate and the Midlands, but have risen significantly in the past month.
Florence (163) and Horry (135) reported the most cases in the PeeDee Friday, while Beaufort (126) and Charleston (120) reported the most confirmed cases in the Lowcountry.
Of the 28 deaths reported for the day, 19 were elderly individuals (65 and older) and nine were middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC.
South Carolinians of all ages 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 — 87% — were over 60, data show.
The deaths reported Friday included four Pickens County residents; three residents each from Anderson and Greenville counties; two residents each from Charleston, Horry, Spartanburg and York counties; and a single resident each from Beaufort, Cherokee, Colleton, Darlington, Florence, Greenwood, Kershaw, Newberry, Oconee and Richland counties.
How are schools affected?
More than 900 COVID-19 cases in the past week are associated with schools, according to DHEC.
State health officials, who report school-related cases twice weekly, documented 657 cases among students and 250 cases among staff this past week.
The numbers include kindergarten through 12th grade students and staff in both public and private schools, and count only individuals who attend school in person or are on campus on a regular basis.
Included in the count are positive COVID-19 results obtained from a rapid schools testing initiative the governor announced last month that some districts are in the process of implementing, DHEC said.
A total of 6,186 school-related cases have been reported since Sept. 4, according to DHEC.
How is COVID-19 trending in South Carolina?
Daily case rates have nearly doubled in the past month and are currently the highest they’ve ever been, with 44 people per 100,000 testing positive for the novel coronavirus over the past 30 days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations, which have topped 1,000 statewide for the past 17 days, are 43% higher Friday than they’ve been on average over the past month, according to DHEC.
The number of people being tested across the state has shot up over the past 30 days, with an average of 214 tests per 100,000 individuals performed daily in the last month, a 46% increase from the month prior, data show.
An average of 18.2% of those tests have come back positive in the past 30 days.
Overall, more than 3.2 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.
