Beaufort Co. has 50 coronavirus cases, SC health officials say. Here’s where they are
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. Saturday to reflect four additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in Beaufort County. The zip code data was last updated by the S.C. Department of Health and Enviromental Control on Friday.
Beaufort County has 50 positive cases of coronavirus, as S.C. health officials on Sunday identified 113 new cases across the state.
That brings South Carolina’s total to 774 cases, according to S.C. Department of Human and Environmental Control. The agency said two more elderly patients across the state have died from the virus.
Additionally, Gov. Henry McMaster mandated that any visitors traveling to South Carolina from “hotspots” such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the city of New Orleans must self-quarantine for two weeks. McMaster says failing to do so can mean up to 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine, though he offered no specifics on how that would be enforced.
Additionally, new location data showing the ZIP codes of confirmed coronavirus cases in Beaufort County reveal three cases on Hilton Head, six in Bluffton, and more than 15 north of the Broad River. That data does not include another confirmed county case reported Friday by DHEC.
The zipcode data from DHEC comes after the agency was under fire for not specifying where cases were beyond the county level.
However, the zip code information on new cases was not updated on Sunday. “The amount of information DHEC provides publicly is limited, particularly in cases that occur in small or other close-knit communities where even basic pieces of information could identify an individual,” said a DHEC spokesperson in an email on Monday.
Of Beaufort County’s confirmed cases (as of Friday):
Five are in Beaufort (29902)
Three are on Parris Island (29905)
Two are northwest of Beaufort (29906)
Five are east of Beaufort (29907)
One is in Okatie (29909)
Six are in Bluffton (29910)
One is on Daufuskie Island (29915)
Four are on St. Helena’s Island (29920)
Three are on Hilton Head (29926 and 29928)
One is in Port Royal (29935)
Two cases are listed as unknown ZIP codes.
The data list a case in Ridgeland with the Beaufort County cases. That case is in 29936 ZIP code.
Of Jasper County’s three confirmed cases:
One is in Ridgeland (29936)
One is in Hardeeville (29927)
One case is listed as an unknown ZIP code.
It was unclear whether the Ridgeland case is the same case listed in both counties. DHEC has not responded to a request for clarification from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
The new information comes as Hilton Head officials voted to ask DHEC for ZIP code-level information on confirmed cases. They also sought daily information from Hilton Head Hospital and the state about patients being treated on the island.
McMaster ordered officials to share the location of people who test positive by ZIP code after the S.C. Association of Counties wrote a letter to the governor, saying first responders were “flying blind.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
