Coronavirus cases spike by 22 in Beaufort County on Saturday. No additional deaths
Beaufort County had 22 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the county to 332, according to state health officials.
On Friday, health officials reported 8 news cases in the county.
The case numbers represents people who have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic in March. It also includes residents who have recovered or died.
The 22 new cases were spread throughout the county.
According to the zip code data, there were eight new cases in Bluffton; six in Beaufort; three in Burton; and one in each on Lady’s Island and in Okatie, Hilton Head, Port Royal, and Yemassee.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control did not report any new coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday in the county.
Across the state, DHEC said there were 248 new cases and three additional deaths. The total number of South Carolinians who have tested positive for COVID-19 is 9,895, according to the latest figures. The health agency said 425 people have died after contracting the virus.
The announcement comes days after The State newspaper, The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reported more than a third of those deaths were nursing home residents, the majority concentrated in a small handful of facilities that couldn’t contain COVID-19 outbreaks.
All of Hilton Head Island’s public beach accesses and parking lots were open starting Friday, and S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster announced tourist attractions could operate once again.
Coronavirus-related deaths
Here are the Beaufort County deaths recorded by the coroner’s office as of Saturday, May 23:
- 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 woman who died April 4.
- An 83-year-old Lady’s Island woman who died April 7.
- A 75-year-old Bluffton man who died April 9.
- A 71-year-old Hilton Head man who died April 12.
- A 93-year-old Bluffton man who died April 13.
- An 80-year-old Okatie man who died April 19.
- An 80-year-old Yemassee man who died April 23
- An 84-year-old Beaufort man who died April 28
- A 79-year-old Bluffton woman who died May 4.
Cases by ZIP code
Beaufort County could have as many as 2,371 undiagnosed cases, DHEC officials say.
Positive cases are those in which a patient has been tested and diagnosed with coronavirus. Because of a lack of access to testing, state health officials have said that for every one confirmed case, there could be up to nine people who are infected but have not been tested.
DHEC’s totals can have small increases and decreases day to day as officials find discrepancies in the data.
The cases include anyone who has tested positive since the pandemic started. The data also includes those who have recovered or died. According to DHEC, these numbers are current as of May 23.
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This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 4:10 PM.
