FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 21, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 907 new confirmed cases and 1 new probable case of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and 9 additional confirmed deaths. There are currently 692 hospital beds occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

This brings the total number of people confirmed cases to 24,661, probable cases to 32, confirmed deaths to 653, and zero probable deaths.

Six of the deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Chester (1), Colleton (1), Florence (2), and Richland (2) counties, and three of the deaths occurred in middle-aged individuals from Richland (1), Spartanburg (1), and Sumter (1) counties. 

The number of new confirmed cases by county are listed below.

Abbeville (2), Aiken (7), Anderson (18), Bamberg (6), Beaufort (41), Berkeley (35), Calhoun (7), Charleston (109), Cherokee (2), Chester (4), Chesterfield (2), Clarendon (2), Colleton (10), Darlington (3), Dillon (3), Dorchester (34), Edgefield (4), Fairfield (4), Florence (20), Georgetown (18), Greenville (133), Greenwood (18), Horry (115), Jasper (4), Kershaw (12), Lancaster (9), Laurens (18), Lee (3), Lexington (43), Marion (5), Marlboro (6), Newberry (7), Oconee (26), Orangeburg (34), Pickens (35), Richland (33), Saluda (3), Spartanburg (19), Sumter (14), Union (4), Williamsburg (4), York (31)

The number of new probable case is listed below.
Colleton (1)

Testing in South Carolina
As of yesterday, a total of 337,469 tests have been conducted in the state. See a detailed breakdown of tests in South Carolina on the Data and Projections webpage. DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week. 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 individuals tested yesterday statewide was 5,622 (not including antibody tests) and the percent positive was 16.1%. 

More than 70 Mobile Testing Clinics Scheduled Statewide
As part of our 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 73 mobile testing events scheduled through July 21 with new testing events added regularly. Find a mobile testing clinic event near you at scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics.

Residents can also get tested at one of 168 permanent COVID-19 testing facilities across the state. Visit scdhec.gov/covid19testing for more information.

Hospital Bed Occupancy
As of this morning, 3,296 inpatient hospital beds are available and 7,173 are in use, which is a 68.52% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 7,173 inpatient beds currently used, 692 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

For the latest information related to COVID-19 visit scdhec.gov/COVID-19. Visit scdmh.net for stress, anxiety and mental health resources from the S.C. Department of Mental Health.

*As new information is provided to the department, some changes in cases may occur. Cases are reported based on the person’s county of residence, as it is provided to the department. DHEC’s COVID-19 map will adjust to reflect any reclassified cases.

###