South Carolina’s public health agency needs $198 million more to meet end-of-year coronavirus testing and containment goals, officials told a panel of influential lawmakers Tuesday.
Since screening for the disease began here in March, the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control has spent $27 million on prevention, treatment, education and containment efforts. But officials expect to go through a total $225 million by Dec. 31, including $131 million for testing.
“We are actively looking at increasing access to testing as demand goes up,” Darbi MacPhail, DHEC’s chief finance and operations officer, told the Joint Bond Review Committee.
As of July 30, DHEC has spent $8 million on testing for the virus.
Though infection rates appear to be ebbing — Monday’s 718 new daily cases was nearly a two-month low, making Tuesday's 928 the second day in a row below 1,000 cases — DHEC officials urged residents not to become complacent.
The percentage of positive test results statewide still hovers in double digits. Deaths in South Carolina related to COVID-19 surpassed 2,000 with Tuesday's release of DHEC numbers.
Officials have set a goal of screening 140,000 residents a month. Screeners have pushed into rural and underserved areas, setting up mobile sites for those who have limited access to care.
With more aggressive testing comes higher overhead for personnel to process all that data. DHEC anticipates spending $32 million in employee-related costs by Dec. 31 to ease wait times.
At full statewide capacity, laboratories can complete 20,000 tests daily, excluding those conducted by private companies such as LabCorp.
DHEC got $45 million in March from state reserves to handle coronavirus response efforts, complementing an $8.9 million federal allotment.
“I guess we all had hoped we would see COVID well behind us by this point. Obviously we haven’t,” said Rep. Murrell Smith, a Sumter Republican. “Testing, I think, has proven beneficial.”
The state still has about $650 million left in federal CARES Act money to distribute for coronavirus-related expenses. Lawmakers return next month to craft a budget and discuss how best to use that aid.
Contact tracing, which enables officials to notify people if they may have been exposed, will take on a larger role in South Carolina, DHEC says. There are already 795 people working across the state to do so, and another 500 will be brought on over the next four weeks.
Just $310,000 has been spent on that effort through July 30, but DHEC plans on using $33.6 million through Dec. 31.
DHEC isn’t the only entity seeking more money in the coronavirus fight. The Medical University of South Carolina, which has partnered with the public health agency on community testing and other initiatives, wants an extra $31 million to fund its work through next May.
That would allow for a statewide marketing campaign, new equipment purchases and more laboratory space.
“I do think we need to continue to test and the more we get into COVID, the more we deal with it, testing is key, and we need to keep it up until we have a vaccine available,” Patrick Cawley, MUSC Health CEO, said.
Statewide numbers
Number of new cases reported: 928
Total number of cases in S.C.: 101,360, plus 770 probable cases
Number of new deaths reported: 45
Total number of deaths in S.C.: 2,012, plus 86 probable deaths
Number of hospitalized patients: 1,330
Percent of tests that were positive: 20 percent
Total number of tests in S.C.: 853,899
Which areas are hardest hit?
Richland County led the state with 95 new cases confirmed Tuesday, while Charleston reported 72 and Beaufort 70.
What's happening in the tri-county region?
In addition to the 72 new cases in Charleston County, Berkeley reported 33 new cases and Dorchester logged 28.
Five Charleston and three Dorchester residents' deaths were confirmed Tuesday. Officials are also determining whether one Berkeley and two Charleston residents who died had COVID-19.
Deaths
Of the 45 deaths confirmed on Tuesday, six were 35 to 64 years old and 38 were 65 or older.
Authorities are investigating to determine whether four more new deaths were COVID-19 related.
The victims had lived in Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Dorchester, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lexington, Oconee, Orangeburg, Richland, Spartanburg and Sumter counties.
Hospitalizations
DHEC reported that 1,330 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized as of Tuesday. Of these, 207 were on ventilators and 339 were in intensive care.
What do experts say?
Officials continue to urge basic precautions to slow the spread of the coronavirus: social distancing, wearing a mask in public, avoiding group gatherings, regularly washing hands and staying home when sick.
