FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 19, 2020

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 137 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 8 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 9,056 and those who have died to 399.

Six of those deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Dillon (1), Greenville (4), and Lexington (1) counties, and two of these deaths occurred in middle-aged individuals from Cherokee (1) and Horry (1) counties.

The number of new cases by county are listed below.
Abbeville (1), Aiken (1), Anderson (6), Bamberg (1), Barnwell (2), Beaufort (5), Berkeley (1), Charleston (8), Cherokee (1), Chesterfield (3), Clarendon (3), Darlington (8), Dillon (1), Dorchester (1), Fairfield (6), Florence (6), Greenville (31), Greenwood (1), Horry (7), Kershaw (1), Lee (4), Lexington (7), Marion (1), Marlboro (1), Newberry (1), Orangeburg (2), Pickens (1), Richland (12), Spartanburg (4), Sumter (2), Williamsburg (3), York (5)

DHEC and S.C. EMS Association Proud to Recognize EMS Workers during National EMS Week
DHEC and the South Carolina EMS Association are proud to recognize our state’s emergency medical services (EMS) professionals during National EMS Week, which is May 17-20. South Carolina has 268 EMS agencies and 11,272 emergency personnel that includes first responders, EMTs, and paramedics. In addition to responding to medical emergency calls day and night, South Carolina’s EMS professionals are a critical component of the state’s COVID-19 response. Read more about our dedicated EMS workers here.

DHEC Launches New COVID-19 Testing Site Locator Map
Today, DHEC launched a new testing site map that easily and clearly identifies COVID-19 testing sites around the state. Clicking on a testing site icon provides the facility name, address, hours of operation, contact phone number and additional details. Testing sites area also listed under the map for easy viewing. View the updated map at scdhec.gov/covid19testing.

In addition, DHEC continues to update its list of mobile testing clinics as these events occur across the state. As of today, 51 mobile clinics have been held across the state. Currently, there are more than 50 mobile testing events scheduled through June 5 with new mobile clinics regularly added. Mobile testing clinics are available at scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics.

Free DHEC Mobile Testing Clinics

• May 20: 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Calhoun Falls Family Practice, partnership with Carolina Health Centers, 535 Jackson St, Calhoun Falls
• May 21: 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. Mcleod Operational Health Commerce Park, in partnership with Mcleod Health, 3257 General Williams West Dr., Florence
• May 21: 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Johnston Elementary School, partnership with Johnston Elementary School, 514 Lee St., Johnston
• May 22: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Charleston Convention Center, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 5000 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston (by appointment only, see below)
• May 22: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. State Fairgrounds, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 1200 Rosewood Dr., Columbia (by appointment only, see below)
• May 23: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Charleston Convention Center, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 5000 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston (by appointment only, see below)
• May 23: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. State Fairgrounds, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 1200 Rosewood Dr., Columbia (by appointment only, see below)
• May 27: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Salem First Baptist Church, partnership with Clemson University Sullivan Center, 151 Crestwood Dr., Salem
• May 27: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mims Recreation Center, partnership with Carolina Health Centers, 516 Mims Drive, McCormick
• May 29: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Charleston Convention Center, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 5000 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston (by appointment only, see below)
• May 29: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. State Fairgrounds, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 1200 Rosewood Dr., Columbia (by appointment only, see below)
• May 29: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Fair Oak Youth Center, partnership with Clemson University Sullivan Center, 150 School House Rd., Westminster
• May 30: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Charleston Convention Center, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 5000 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston (by appointment only, see below)
• May 30: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. State Fairgrounds, *partnership with Kroger Health Harris Teeter, 1200 Rosewood Dr., Columbia (by appointment only, see below)
• June 3: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Ware Shoals High School, partnership with Carolina Health Centers, 56 S. Greenwood Ave., Ware Shoals

*Kroger Health and Harris Teeter partner events are by appointment only. Individuals must schedule an appointment via Kroger Health’s online portal at www.thelittleclinic.com/drivethru-testing.

Updated Data, Demographics and Impacted Facilities List
Today’s COVID-19 webpage updates includes new demographic data, a newly calculated recovery rate, a current list of nursing homes and similar facilities impacted by COVID-19, and more. While DHEC’s daily web updates include positive cases and deaths, hospital bed capacity, number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, testing numbers, confirmed and estimated cases by ZIP code, testing sites and more, the twice weekly updates include this additional information for the public.

Hospital Bed Occupancy
As of this morning, 3,292 inpatient hospital beds are available and 7,046 are in use, which is a 68.16% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 7,046 inpatient beds currently used, 444 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

Testing in South Carolina
As of May 18, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 27,829 tests for COVID-19. Of these tests, 3,152 were positive and 24,677 were negative. A total of 135,063 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.

Percent Positive Test Trends among Reported COVID-19 Cases
As South Carolina increases testing, there will likely be more laboratory-confirmed cases. The total number of tests performed yesterday statewide was 3,236 and the percent positive was 4.2%. 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.

*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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