62-year-old Beaufort County woman reported as COVID-19 death by coroner’s office

A 62-year-old St. Helena woman died of a COVID-19 related illness at a Charleston hospital Monday, Beaufort County Coroner’s Office Administrative Deputy Janet Horton reported Thursday.

It was the third COVID-19 death reported for Beaufort County this week.

However, the data from the state and coroner’s office doesn’t match.

S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported the death of a middle aged individual Tuesday, and, on Wednesday, the death of an elderly individual.

The state agency uses federal guidelines when identifying anyone 65 and older as elderly and anyone 35 to 64 as middle aged.

The Coroner’s Office reported the death of a 55-year-old Beaufort man Tuesday and the 62-year-old woman Thursday.

Horton said Thursday that the coroner’s office didn’t have any information about the death of the elderly individual reported by DHEC Wednesday.

DHEC reports deaths according to the county a victim resides in. It doesn’t necessarily track the county a victim died in. That can make it difficult for the coroner’s office to track deaths reported by the agency. DHEC also doesn’t publicly report information such as age or city.

David Ott, chief deputy coroner, previously said the state also wasn’t sharing specific information about COVID-19 deaths with the coroner’s office.

There were 33 new cases of COVID-19 and 979 total overall reported Thursday in the county by DHEC.

The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 had the most cases with 254.

South Carolina has recorded a total of 28,962 cases of the novel coronavirus and 60 deaths overall since the pandemic began..

Eight COVID-19 related deaths were confirmed Thursday in the state. Four of the people who died were elderly; Four were middle aged.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases was the highest since the pandemic started on Wednesday at 40. It was 38 on Thursday.

The county’s lowest seven-day average for new cases was zero on May 9.

About 74% of hospital beds statewide were in use Thursday.

About 881 of the 7,842 beds in use were occupied by patients who either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

DHEC data shows 71% of the beds in Beaufort County, and 56% in Jasper County, were in use.

DHEC does not provide a county-by-county breakdown of how hospital beds are being used.

Beaufort Memorial Hospital was treating 10 inpatients for COVID-19 Thursday. Nineteen inpatients were under investigation for coronavirus, a hospital spokesperson said.

There were four COVID-19 inpatients being treated Thursday in the Hilton Head Regional Healthcare System, a spokesperson said. The system includes Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals.

Coronavirus-related deaths

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

• 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.

• A 55-year-old Beaufort man who died June 13

• A 62-year-old St. Helena woman who died June 22

• Elderly county resident whose death was reported June 24

Cases by ZIP code

Beaufort County could have as many as 979 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 someone who dies from coronavirus might have had.

Positive cases are those in which a patient has been tested for and been 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 total count of 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.

This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 3:29 PM.