19 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Beaufort County Wednesday. 483 cases total

Nineteen new cases of coronavirus were reported in Beaufort County Wednesday by S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control as cases continued to trend upward in the county and across the state.

There have been a total of 483 cases reported in the county since the start of the pandemic.

As of Wednesday, Bluffton led the county with 118 cases.

“Today, I am more concerned about COVID-19 in South Carolina than I ever have been before,” S.C. State Epidemiologist Linda Bell said during a press conference Wednesday. “For the past two weeks, we’ve seen some of our highest daily numbers since the pandemic began.”

South Carolina recorded 15,759 cases of the novel coronavirus and 575 deaths as of June 10.

Statewide, DHEC reported five new deaths. Three of the deaths were of elderly individuals; two were middle aged.

There were no new deaths reported in the county Wednesday.

Since May 27, Beaufort County has had as many as 20 new coronavirus cases reported in a single day. There was one day during that period when the county saw as few as three cases.

The most cases reported in a single day in the county since the start of the pandemic was 29 on April 2.

The county’s lowest seven-day average for new cases was 0 on May 9. The highest average for new cases was 15 on April 4.

The average was 10 on Wednesday.

About 73 percent of hospital beds statewide were in use Wednesday.

About 513 of the 7,608 beds were occupied by patients who either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

DHEC data shows 84.6 percent of the beds in Beaufort County were in use and 88.7 percent in Jasper County. DHEC does not provide a county-by-county breakdown of how hospital beds are being used.

Coronavirus-related deaths

Here are the Beaufort County deaths recorded by the coroner’s office as of Wednesday

• 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.
• A 73-year-old Okatie woman who died May 26.
• A 59-year-old Okatie man who died May 27.

Cases by ZIP code

Beaufort County could have as many as 2,967 undiagnosed cases, DHEC officials say.

DHEC does not provide an overall, county-by-county number of cases versus the number of people who have recovered. It also does not release any identifying information or specifics concerning underlying conditions a patient might have.

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 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.

DHEC counts deaths based on where the patient lives rather than where he or she passes away.

Coronavirus cases at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are being reported in the 29902 ZIP code.