By Laurel Mallory | May 22, 2020 at 4:29 PM EDT – Updated May 22 at 6:43 PM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Friday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) reported 245 new cases of the novel coronavirus and three additional deaths.
The total number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in South Carolina is now 9,638 and those who have died to 419.
Included in this article is context on testing, recoveries, hospitalization, death rates and more. That information is provided in detail below the info on new cases announced Friday.
The people who died were elderly (65 and older) and lived in the following counties: Spartanburg (2) and Jasper (1).
New confirmed cases by county as of Friday, May 22:
- Aiken (5)
- Anderson (4)
- Beaufort (8)
- Berkeley (2)
- Charleston (16)
- Cherokee (1)
- Chester (3)
- Chesterfield (10)
- Clarendon (1)
- Colleton (2)
- Darlington (2)
- Dillon (8)
- Dorchester (6)
- Edgefield (1)
- Fairfield (3)
- Florence (11)
- Georgetown (1)
- Greenville (17)
- Greenwood (3)
- Hampton (1)
- Horry (26)
- Jasper (2)
- Kershaw (6)
- Lancaster (4)
- Lee (4)
- Lexington (10)
- Marion (3)
- Marlboro (2)
- McCormick (1)
- Newberry (8)
- Oconee (1)
- Orangeburg (3)
- Pickens (6)
- Richland (28)
- Spartanburg (16)
- Sumter (8)
- Williamsburg (9)
- York (3)
COVID-19 TESTING IN SOUTH CAROLINA
- Negative tests from DHEC Public Health Laboratory – 26,375
- Negative tests from private laboratories – 114,010
- Total negative tests – 140,385*
- Positive tests from DHEC Public Health Laboratory – 3,276
- Positive tests from private laboratories – 11,085
- Total positive tests – 14,361**
- Total number of tests performed in South Carolina by DHEC and private labs – 154,746
**Total negative tests is the cumulative number of all tests without positive results. This total includes individuals who may have been tested once and individuals who have been tested multiple times.
**Total positive tests is different than the total number of positive cases in the state. The number of cases is the number of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once. Some of those individuals have been tested multiple times for various reasons, and the total positive tests captures all of the positive tests results in the state. One positive case may have been tested multiple times, with potentially multiple positive results.
TRACKING PERCENT POSITIVE
Percent positive refers to the number of positive COVID-19 cases in relation to the number of tests performed. With the increase in testing statewide, the percentage of positive cases has fallen drastically since the start of the outbreak.
From May 20 to May 21, the percent of positive cases rose slightly.
The following explanation on why the percent positive number is important comes straight from DHEC’s website:
“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 May 20, 199) divided by the total number of tests performed on that same day by both DHEC’s laboratory and private laboratories (for May 20, 4,836), then multiplied by 100 to get the percent positive (4.1% for May 20).
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.”
DHEC says as of Friday morning, 429 people are hospitalized due to COVID-19 or are under investigation for the possibility of having the virus. That’s down by nine people from Thursday.
Of all inpatient hospital beds in the state, 7,084 beds are in use and 3,267 beds are available — meaning 68.44% of all inpatient hospital beds are currently in use.
As of May 21, DHEC has estimated 85% of people who didn’t die from the virus, and that they have “symptom onset data” for, have recovered. They only have that data for 7,133 people. Of those people, 376 have unfortunately died.
Based on that information, DHEC estimates 5,743 have recovered so far. The rest of the people are still fighting the virus, DHEC says.
In the accelerateSC task force meeting Tuesday, DHEC officials explained they have mandatory reporting for symptoms, but nothing for “people feeling better.” They are working to get a more accurate picture of the number of people who have recovered.
When looking at the confirmed numbers of cases and deaths, one could figure the death toll from the virus is higher than 4%.
If that is the case, as DHEC suggests, there may have been a total of 68,843 coronavirus cases in the state so far. That would mean the death toll could be more like 0.6%.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO HELP
South Carolinians are encouraged to monitor for symptoms, practice social distancing, avoid touching frequently touched items (such as doorknobs and handrails), and regularly wash their hands, especially after being in a public place.
To help protect against COVID-19, DHEC encourages everyone to wear a mask covering whenever in public. When wearing a mask, South Carolinians should:
- Make sure you can breathe through it
- Wear it whenever going out in public
- Make sure it covers your nose and mouth
- Wash your hands before taking it on or off
- Wash after using
- Use on children under age 2
- Touch the front of the mask
- Use surgical masks needed by healthcare workers
DHEC says homemade masks can reduce the chance of people spreading the virus and keep them from touching their face. They are recommended to be worn in places where social distancing is difficult — grocery stores, pharmacies, etc…
People who have the virus but aren’t showing symptoms can reduce their chance of spreading the virus by wearing a mask, so everyone is recommended to wear one.
Individuals with signs of illness are asked to stay at home and not attend public gatherings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, is spread mainly from person-to-person by those in close contact, or through coughing and sneezing by someone who’s infected.
Symptoms of the coronavirus can show up between two and 14 days of exposure, health officials say. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
For most people, COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But some severe cases can lead to death.
Most people can recover from the virus at home using over-the-counter medications to treat their symptoms.
Some people who have the virus don’t show any symptoms, but they can still spread it to others. The CDC estimates that up to 35% of all cases are asymptomatic.
Protecting Yourself from Coronavirus (May 2020)
Those who are at the highest risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19 are the elderly and those who are already being treated for chronic medical diseases.
The CDC says about 3% of people who show symptoms of the virus need to be hospitalized, but that percentage is doubled for seniors.
Young people who contract the virus are not likely to have a serious case, research shows. However, the CDC said about 40% of people who needed to be hospitalized due to the coronavirus are between the ages of 18 and 64.
Those who are hospitalized with serious cases of COVID-19 have trouble breathing, and many need support from ventilators, which breathe for them. The U.S. is working to produce more of the machines to prepare, but experts fear a shortage of life-saving devices.
Children are the least likely to develop COVID-19. However, a serious but rare inflammatory condition in children has been linked with the coronavirus. Click or tap here to read more about that.
The mortality rate for people with the virus was first widely reported around 2 to 3%, but health experts noted at the time that the actual percentage was not that high, as not all cases are diagnosed or reported.
As of mid-May, the CDC estimates about 0.4% of people who get COVID-19 will die from it.
The rate is higher than the flu, which kills on average about 0.1% of people who get it, based on a 10-year average of data from the CDC.
Anyone with concerns about their health, or who believes they are showing symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, should call their health care provider. Avoid going to the doctor or an emergency room unless the situation is life-threatening.
People without a doctor can take advantage of free online screening from Prisma Health and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
MUSC has an online platform to aid with coronavirus diagnosis and care. Go to musc.care and access the COVID-19 platform. The service is free with code: COVID19.
Prisma Health also has a free virtual visit, which allows patients to video conference with a doctor instead of coming into a facility. The goal is to keep patients who don’t need to be treated at a hospital at home. Go to prismahealth.org/virtual-visit and use promo code COVID19 for a free virtual visit.
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