DHEC: 266 new cases of COVID-19, 4 more deaths
Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — In a press release from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 266 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were announced Saturday, along with four additional deaths.
This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 11,394 and those who have died to 487.
Three of the deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Clarendon (1) and Williamsburg (2) counties, and one of the deaths occurred in a middle-aged individual from Florence county.
The number of new cases by county are listed below.
Aiken (3), Bamberg (1), Barnwell (1), Beaufort (16), Berkeley (2), Calhoun (3), Charleston (23), Chester (12), Chesterfield (12), Clarendon (6), Colleton (8), Darlington (8), Dillon (6), Dorchester (3), Fairfield (6), Florence (6), Greenville (9), Greenwood (1), Horry (7), Jasper (2), Kershaw (5), Lancaster (1), Laurens (2), Lee (5), Lexington (29), Marlboro (12), Newberry (5), Orangeburg (13), Pickens (2), Richland (25), Saluda (2), Spartanburg (1), Sumter (13), Williamsburg (4), York (12)
As of May 29, a total of 199,735 total 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.
As part of DHEC’s 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 103 mobile testing events scheduled through July 2 with new testing events added regularly. Find a mobile testing clinic event near you at scdhec.gov/
Additionally, there are currently 162 permanent testing locations at health care facilities throughout the state. These testing sites can be found at scdhec.gov/covid19testing.
As South Carolina increases testing, there will likely be more laboratory-confirmed cases. The total number of individuals tested yesterday statewide was 4,917 and the percent positive was 5.4%. 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 of Saturday morning, 3,419 inpatient hospital beds are available and 6,964 are in use, which is a 67.07% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 6,964 inpatient beds currently used, 387 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.
