70 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County Tuesday, breaking records

Seventy new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Beaufort County Tuesday, a number that set a new daily record, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Previously, June 20 held the record with 60 new coronavirus cases.

The county has recorded 1,219 cases overall since the start of the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, the Bluffton Zip code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 320 cases.

South Carolina has recorded a total of 36,297 cases of the novel coronavirus and 735 deaths overall since the pandemic began.

There were no new deaths recorded in Beaufort County Tuesday. There have been 20 COVID-19 related deaths connected to the county since the pandemic started, per DHEC and Beaufort County Coroner’s Office data. The two agencies do not use the same method of tracking COVID data.

The Coroner’s Office reported Monday the deaths of a 29-year-old Florida man in Bluffton and a 66-year-old Beaufort man in Beaufort.

Six deaths have been reported in June in the county , double the three deaths reported in May.

There were 19 COVID-19 related confirmed and probable deaths reported Tuesday across the state. Seventeen of the people who died were elderly and 2 were middle aged.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases also was record breaking Tuesday at 44.

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

DHEC reported Beaufort County as one of 16 counties with the highest incidence rates in the state. It reported the 16 counties each had 301 cases or more per 100,000 people reported between June 16 and June 29.

The state agency also reported that every county in the state but two — Greenwood and Marlboro — were seeing an increase in incident rates for the past two weeks compared to the previous two-week period.

About 71% of hospital beds statewide were in use Tuesday.

About 1,021 of the 7,620 beds were occupied by patients who either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

DHEC data shows 66% of the beds in Beaufort County hospitals, and 55% in Jasper County, were in use.

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

Beaufort County could have as many as 7,488 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 the coronavirus might have had.

Positive cases are those in which a patient has been tested for 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 total count of cases includes 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 30, 2020 at 3:11 PM.