38 coronavirus cases reported in Beaufort Co. Friday as SC again breaks daily record
Beaufort County recorded an additional 38 COVID-19 cases on Friday, capping off a week that saw a sharp increase in the average daily number of infections reported by state health officials.
Although access to testing has increased, Memorial Day travel and relaxed social distancing have likely contributed to the upward trend in cases, The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reported.
As the week comes to an end, a Hilton Head Island mainstay, Main Street Cafe and Pub, will temporarily close until August, its owners citing the dramatic increase in cases.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s figures show 760 coronavirus cases confirmed in the county since the pandemic began.
No new deaths were reported Friday.
DHEC does not report how many people currently have the virus and how many have recovered at the local level. But ZIP code-level case counts show that Bluffton has recorded the most cases of any part of the county since mid-March. Bluffton saw 12 new cases Friday, according to DHEC.
South Carolina has recorded a total of 22,608 confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, including 1,081 new infections announced Friday, the first time the state’s daily cases have broken 1,000.
On Friday, 18 new deaths were confirmed, bringing the statewide total to 639.
As of Friday, about 660 coronavirus patients are hospitalized statewide, according to DHEC. This figure is not publicly available at the county level.
Thursday, state epidemiologist Linda Bell issued a rare public statement warning that failing to follow public health precautions, like wearing a mask and following social distancing guidelines, puts other residents at risk. “This virus does not take a day off,” the statement read.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has not joined other states in mandating residents wear masks, saying individual responsibility is the answer.
Coronavirus-related deaths
Here are the Beaufort County deaths recorded by the coroner’s office as of Friday.
- 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.
- A 74-year-old Beaufort women who died June 13.
Beaufort County could have as many as 4,669 undiagnosed cases, DHEC officials say.
DHEC 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 for and been diagnosed with COVID-19. 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 died.
Coronavirus cases at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are being reported in the 29902 ZIP code.
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