FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 11, 2020

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 687 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 16,441 and those who have died to 588.

Ten of the 13 deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Greenville (2), Florence (1), Spartanburg (3), Fairfield (1), Colleton (2), and Greenwood (1) counties, and three in middle-aged individuals from Lexington (1), and Spartanburg (2) counties.

The number of new cases by county are listed below.

Aiken (6), Abbeville (3), Anderson (7), Bamberg (3), Beaufort (24), Berkeley (20), Calhoun (1), Charleston (45), Chester (3), Chesterfield (7), Cherokee (1), Clarendon (9), Colleton (6), Darlington (8), Dillon (2), Dorchester (10), Edgefield (1), Fairfield (3), Florence (22), Georgetown (15), Greenville (125), Greenwood (36), Hampton (5), Horry (47), Jasper (2), Kershaw (8), Lancaster (10), Laurens (9), Lexington (52), Marion (4), Marlboro (5), Newberry (1), Oconee (6), Orangeburg (13), Pickens (14), Richland (69), Saluda (2), Spartanburg (9), Sumter (45), Williamsburg (8), York (21)

Antibody Testing Results
Antibody testing has become an important topic in the country’s COVID-19 response. An antibody test checks a person’s blood by looking for antibodies, which indicates the individual had a previous infection with the COVID-19 virus. Learn more about COVID-19 antibody testing here.
 
While DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory doesn’t perform antibody testing, private labs report antibody test results to DHEC every day as part of their total COVID-19 testing numbers. DHEC has included antibody tests in the total number of reported tests in South Carolina since March 10. DHEC has not included positive antibody test results in the total number of positive cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina. The inclusion of antibody test numbers in our daily testing numbers has not affected the number of cases in the state, however, it has slightly decreased the percent positive.
 
As of June 10, a total of 265,351 tests for COVID-19, including 27,609 antibody tests, have been reported in South Carolina. DHEC is committed to providing accurate and transparent data and will begin providing the specific break down of the number of antibody tests performed by private labs beginning with today’s website update.

Testing in South Carolina
As of yesterday, a total of 265,351 tests have been conducted in the state (by both DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory and private labs). 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.

Percent Positive Test Trends among Reported COVID-19 Cases
The total number of individuals tested yesterday statewide was 4,791 and the percent positive was 14.3%. When the percent positive is low, it may indicate that more widespread testing is being performed and the percent positive may more accurately reflect how much disease is present in the community.

More than 80 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 82 mobile testing events scheduled through July 2 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 173 permanent COVID-19 testing facilities across the state. Visit scdhec.gov/covid19testing for more information.

Hospital Bed Occupancy
As of this morning, 2,827 inpatient hospital beds are available and 7,614 are in use, which is a 72.92% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 7,614 inpatient beds currently used, 494 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

How South Carolinians Can Stop the Spread
Evidence is increasing about the high rates of infection in people who do not have symptoms and don’t know they are infectious. This places everyone at risk of getting the virus or unknowingly transmitting it to someone else. Steps we can take to protect ourselves and others include:

• Practicing social distancing
• Wearing a mask in public
• Avoiding group gatherings
• Regularly washing your hands
• Staying home if sick

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.

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