FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 10, 2020

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 113 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and one additional death.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 7,653 and those who have died to 331.

The death occurred in an elderly individual in Marion County.

The number of new cases by county are listed below.
Aiken (2), Allendale (1), Anderson (2), Bamberg (1), Beaufort (6), Charleston (1), Chesterfield (4), Clarendon (1), Darlington (1), Dillon (7), Dorchester (1), Florence (12), Greenville (13), Hampton (1), Horry (6), Jasper (2), Lancaster (5), Laurens (1), Lee (7), Lexington (4), Marion (1), Orangeburg (2), Pickens (5), Richland (15), Saluda (1), Spartanburg (7), Sumter (1), Williamsburg (2), York (1)

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.

DHEC Launches New COVID-19 Mobile Testing Clinics
DHEC is partnering with community organizations to host free COVID-19 mobile and popup testing clinics across the state. The screening and specimen collections are free for residents and are part of DHEC’s ongoing efforts to increase testing in underserved and rural communities across the state. Among the new mobile testing sites scheduled for this week include several in Charleston County, as well as Clarendon, Florence, Lee, and Saluda counties. Additional sites will continue to be added.

In addition, DHEC has launched a new COVID-19 mobile testing clinic webpage to share information about upcoming testing events. Mobile testing clinics will be updated to the agency’s new page once confirmed.

Percent Positive Test Trends Among Reported COVID-19 Cases
As South Carolina increases testing, there will likely be more laboratory-confirmed cases. The percent positive graphs show trends in the percent of cases of COVID-19 relative to the number of tests performed during the last 28 and 14 days, respectively. The calculation is a result of the number of positive tests reported in a day (for yesterday, 113) divided by the total number of tests performed on that same day by both DHEC’s laboratory and private laboratories (for yesterday, 3,280), then multiplied by 100 to get the percent positive (3.4% yesterday).

When the percent positive is high, it may indicate that there isn't enough testing being performed to capture how much disease is in the community and testing may be focused on people who are more severely ill. 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.

Hospital Bed Capacity
As of this morning, 3,620 inpatient hospital beds are available and 6,354 are in use, which is a 63.71% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 6,354 inpatient beds currently used, 446 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

Testing in South Carolina
As of May 9, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 20,813 tests for COVID-19. Of these tests, 2,704 were positive and 18,109 were negative. A total of 84,457 total 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.

Cases by County and ZIP Code
DHEC’s interactive maps were updated to include the latest confirmed and estimated COVID-19 cases by county and ZIP code. The estimated cases represent possible cases 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 the risk of disease spread within our communities.

*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.

###