July 19: SC reports most COVID-19 cases in single day
South Carolina on Sunday reported the most newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic started.
But whether the number of people in the hospital from the virus continues to climb isn't known publicly as the state follows a federal request to change how it reports and who it reports hospitalizations to.
South Carolina has reported 2,000 new cases three times since the virus was first detected in the state in March. All have been in the past eight days.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Sunday announced 2,335 new confirmed cases and one new probable case of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, 19 additional confirmed deaths and no new probable deaths.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 69,765, probable cases to 221, confirmed deaths to 1,138 and 17 probable deaths.
*Today’s case data includes 526 new confirmed cases from July 17 that DHEC received from a private laboratory on July 18.
Spartanburg County reported 91 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in a middle-aged individual on Sunday. Cherokee County reported 16 new cases and Union County reported eight new cases on Sunday.
Confirmed cases: Abbeville (5), Aiken (31), Allendale (8), Anderson (33), Bamberg (32), Barnwell (24), Beaufort (93), Berkeley (120), Calhoun (15), Charleston (338), Cherokee (16), Chester (10), Chesterfield (25), Clarendon (22), Colleton (9), Darlington (37), Dillon (10), Dorchester (148), Edgefield (11), Fairfield (6), Florence (102), Georgetown (29), Greenville (194), Greenwood (21), Hampton (21), Horry (146), Jasper (9), Kershaw (37), Lancaster (24), Laurens (16), Lee (7), Lexington (98), Marion (19), Marlboro (7), McCormick (5), Newberry (23), Oconee (16), Orangeburg (90), Pickens (29), Richland (117), Saluda (11), Spartanburg (91), Sumter (21), Union (8), Williamsburg (43), York (158)
Probable cases: Dorchester (1)
Sixteen of the confirmed deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Charleston (1), Darlington (1), Fairfield (1), Florence (1), Greenville (2), Horry (1), Lexington (1), Newberry (1), Orangeburg (3), Pickens (1), Richland (2), and Sumter (1) counties, and three of the confirmed deaths occurred in middle-aged individuals from Anderson (1), Pickens (1), and Spartanburg (1) counties.
Testing in South Carolina
As of Saturday, a total of 626,970 tests have been conducted in the state. DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week, and the Public Health Laboratory’s current time-frame for providing results to health care providers is 24-48 hours.
Percent Positive Test Trends among Reported COVID-19 Cases
The total number of individual test results reported to DHEC yesterday statewide was 12,679 (not including antibody tests) and the percent positive was 18.4%.
More than 80 Mobile Testing Clinics Scheduled Statewide
As part of ongoing efforts to increase testing in underserved and rural communities across the state, DHEC is working with community partners to set up mobile testing clinics that bring testing to these communities. Currently, there are 83 mobile testing events scheduled through Aug. 15 with new testing events added regularly. Find a mobile testing clinic event at scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics.
Residents can also get tested at one of 182 permanent COVID-19 testing facilities across the state. Visit scdhec.gov/covid19testing for more information.
Hospital Bed Occupancy
The state also has set records for people hospitalized with COVID-19 nearly every day in July. But health officials did not release the number of hospital cases Saturday or Sunday because of a federal request that states report the figures to a new Department of Health and Human Services database instead of to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state said it will begin reporting occupied hospital bed numbers once the new database has sufficient participation, but also warned the number may fluctuate significantly.
South Carolina reported a daily record 1,593 people in the hospital with the virus Friday, the last day figures were available.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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