FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 20, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 125 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 9,175 and those who have died to 407.

All of the eight deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Clarendon (1), Colleton (4), Fairfield (1), Lexington (1), and Richland (1) counties.

The number of new cases by county are listed below.
Aiken (4), Anderson (3), Beaufort (5), Berkeley (2), Charleston (1), Chester (1), Chesterfield (4), Colleton (2), Darlington (5), Dillon (3), Dorchester (4), Edgefield (1), Fairfield (5), Florence (3), Georgetown (1), Greenville (14), Horry (8), Jasper (1), Kershaw (3), Lee (1), Lexington (6), Marion (2), Marlboro (3), Orangeburg (2), Pickens (3), Richland (17), Saluda (4), Spartanburg (3), Sumter (2), Williamsburg (2), York (10)

More than 50 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 more than 50 mobile testing events scheduled through June 12 with new mobile clinics regularly added. Visit DHEC’s mobile testing clinic webpage at www.scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics. We update this page regularly as new testing clinics are confirmed.

Find a Permanent Testing Site Facility Near You
DHEC’s updated testing site map easily and clearly identifies COVID-19 testing sites around the state. These testing sites are different than the mobile testing clinics — these are permanent testing locations at health care facilities. Today, 144 facilities are performing COVID-19 testing. Find a location near you at www.scdhec.gov/covid19testing.

Testing in South Carolina
As of May 19, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 28,775 tests for COVID-19. Of these tests, 3,222 were positive and 25,553 were negative. A total of 138,238 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.

Hospital Bed Occupancy
As of this morning, 3,030 inpatient hospital beds are available and 7,209 are in use, which is a 70.41% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 7,209 inpatient beds currently used, 414 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

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 2,270 and the percent positive was 5.5%. 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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