Beaufort County experiences smallest increase of confirmed coronavirus cases in weeks

Editor’s note: This story was updated was to reflect accurate confirmed and estimated cases by ZIP code, as reported by DHEC on April 10. A previous version erroneously reported estimated case counts as the sum of confirmed and possible cases. The “possible” cases in the ZIP code-level totals below reflect projections of how many additional people may be infected but have not been tested for the virus.

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Carolina surpassed 3,000 Friday, Beaufort County experienced its smallest increase in weeks, according to new data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

There were two new confirmed cases in the county, bringing the total to 186, and no new coronavirus-related deaths.

State emergency management officials said this week they plan to use sports arenas, shuttered medical facilities and tent hospitals to add about 3,000 hospital beds to the state’s total capacity in preparation for a surge of COVID-19 patients.

Beaufort Memorial announced Friday it plans to convert Beaufort Middle School’s gym to a field hospital, filling it with cots and medical equipment by the end of next week to make room for any potential patient overflow caused by the pandemic.

Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina Hospitals have designated areas for additional ICU beds and assembled supplies of ventilators and other breathing machines for use with critically-ill coronavirus patients.

Here is the breakdown of Beaufort County’s coronavirus cases, both positive and estimated, by ZIP code:

• 64 positive and 393 possible in Beaufort (29902)
• No positive and six possible west of Beaufort (29904)
• 20 positive and 123 possible northwest of Beaufort (29906)
• 13 positive and 80 possible east of Beaufort (29907)
• 9 positive and 54 possible in Okatie (29909)
• 34 positive and 209 possible in Bluffton (29910)
• One positive and six possible on Daufuskie Island (29915)
• Eight positive and 49 possible on St. Helena Island (29920)
• 13 positive and 80 possible on Hilton Head Island (29926)
• Seven positive and 43 possible on Hilton Head Island (29928)
• Five positive and 31 possible in Port Royal (29935)
• One positive and zero possible in Ridgeland (29936)
• One positive and six possible in Seabrook (29940)
• One positive and six possible in Sheldon (29941)
• Two positive and five possible in Yemassee (29945)
• Seven cases were listed as “unknown”

Note: some ZIP codes cover multiple counties. These numbers represent cases in Beaufort County only, as of April 9 at midnight.

Estimated cases

Positive cases are those in which a patient has been tested and diagnosed with coronavirus. Estimated cases are those who may have coronavirus but have not been diagnosed.

DHEC has said there are up to nine people with coronavirus for every person who tests positive, so the possible number of cases for each ZIP code rises with every diagnosis.

As of Friday afternoon, DHEC said Beaufort County has 1,329 possible cases, which includes the 186 confirmed and the 1,143 estimated.

Statewide, 3,065 patients have tested positive for coronavirus.

Coronavirus-related deaths in Beaufort County

Beaufort County has had five coronavirus-related deaths. All were elderly patients with underlying health conditions, according to DHEC. They include:

• An 81-year-old Beaufort man who died March 30
• A 72-year-old Beaufort man who died March 31
• An 86-year-old Hilton Head Island man who died April 3
• An 89-year-old Hilton Head Island woman who died April 4
• A 73-year-old Lady’s Island woman who died April 7

How many COVID-19 cases are on Parris Island?

Any cases related to the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Port Royal have been difficult to track in DHEC’s daily ZIP code data since 29905 — a ZIP code associated with the depot — was removed from the listing.

The latest DHEC has said is that the 29905 ZIP code cases have been absorbed into 29906, the nearest ZIP code, per “geocoding best practices,” spokesperson Laura Renwick said in an email Thursday.

On Friday, the 29906 ZIP code had 20 confirmed cases.

This is not how DHEC has logged the Parris Island cases from the beginning.

Last week, the Parris Island officials stopped releasing information about coronavirus cases to the public after the U.S. Department of Defense ordered military installations in South Carolina to stop making data about COVID-19 tests public, but said the information would still be reported to DHEC.

Prior to that order, Parris Island officials confirmed there were more than 20 cases at the depot.

After the 29905 ZIP code was taken off DHEC’s daily listing, Renwick said positive cases for Parris Island were reported in the “unknown” category because the cases were reported to DHEC as being in multiple ZIP codes.

On Tuesday, a DHEC spokesperson said in an email that there were 39 cases associated with the 29905 ZIP code, but the next day, DHEC walked that back, saying it believed the 29905 ZIP code was solely for the depot’s post office and there was no populace associated with it.

“We’re working to refine the (geographic information system) discrepancies like this one and all of the ‘unknowns’ within the ZIP code listings in order to provide the most accurate information,” Renwick said in an Wednesday email.

Then on Thursday, the cases were apparently absorbed into 29906.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 4:47 PM.

Lana Ferguson

The Island Packet

843-560-9209

Lana Ferguson typically covers stories in northern Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County. She joined The Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette in 2018 as a crime/breaking news reporter. Before coming to the Lowcountry, she worked for publications in her home state of Virginia and graduated from the University of Mississippi, where she was editor-in-chief of the daily student newspaper. Lana was also a fellow at the University of South Carolina’s Media Law School in 2019. Support my work with a digital subscription