FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 8, 2020

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 139 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, including 12 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 2,552, and those who have died to 63.

The additional deaths occurred in 10 elderly and two middle-aged patients with underlying health conditions. The elderly individuals were residents from Horry (1), Kershaw (1), Laurens (1), McCormick (1), Newberry (1), Richland (2), and Spartanburg (3) counties. The middle-aged individuals were residents from Clarendon (1) and Richland (1) counties.  

The number of new cases by county are listed below.
Abbeville (1), Aiken (4), Anderson (10), Beaufort (5), Berkeley (1), Charleston (3), Chester (1), Chesterfield (4), Clarendon (4), Colleton (2), Dorchester (3), Florence (2), Georgetown (2), Greenville (9), Greenwood (2), Horry (7), Kershaw (6), Lancaster (2), Laurens (2), Lee (3), Marlboro (2), Newberry (2), Oconee (2), Orangeburg (1), Richland (32), Spartanburg (6), Sumter (12), Union (1), Williamsburg (1), York (7).

Two counties (Fairfield and Darlington) each lost a case from their total counts and one county (Lexington) lost two cases as the cases were determined during case investigations to be residents of other counties.

DHEC’s COVID-19 webpage is updated daily with a map of positive cases as well as the most current recommendations for protecting against COVID-19.

Testing in South Carolina
As of April 7, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 8,523 tests for COVID-19. Of these tests, 1,000 were positive and 7,523 were negative. A total of 24,634 tests by both DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory and private labs have been conducted in the state. DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week. The Public Health Laboratory’s current timeframe for providing results to health care providers is 24-48 hours.

Hospital Bed Capacity
As of this morning, 5,634 hospital beds are available and 6,279 are utilized, which is a 52.7 percent statewide hospital bed utilization rate. The overall trend this week has been in greater hospital bed availability, specifically a 5.6 percent decrease in hospital bed utilization since March 23.

Cases by ZIP Code
The latest confirmed COVID-19 cases by ZIP code are available here. This includes estimated cases by ZIP code. These estimated counts represent those who are potentially undiagnosed. The estimate of possible cases is based on evidence that for every known case of COVID-19, there could be up to 9 people with the virus who remain unidentified in the community. By including estimates, we hope to better convey more meaningful information about the risk of disease spread in our community. We encourage everyone to continue to take action to protect themselves and those they love.

How South Carolinians Can Protect Themselves
South Carolinians are encouraged to stay home and minimize contact with people outside their households to prevent the spread of the disease. Other steps the public should take include:

• Monitoring for symptoms
• Practicing social distancing
• Avoiding touching frequently touched items
• Regularly washing your hands

Anyone with concerns about their health should reach out to their healthcare provider or use the telehealth services provided by several health care systems.

For telehealth options and the latest information about DHEC’s COVID-19 response efforts, please 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.

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