49 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County Sunday; 1,457 total

Forty-nine new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Beaufort County Sunday for a total of 1,457, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

As of Sunday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 397 cases.

South Carolina has recorded a total of 44,717 cases of the novel coronavirus and 813 confirmed deaths overall since the pandemic began, including eight new deaths reported Sunday in the state. Officials said five of those who died were elderly and three were middle-aged.

There were no new deaths recorded in Beaufort County Sunday. There have been two local deaths from COVID-19 already this month. Six were reported in June.

There have been 23 COVID-19 related deaths connected to the county since the pandemic started, according to DHEC and Beaufort County Coroner’s Office data. The two agencies do not use the same method of tracking COVID-19 related deaths.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 49 Sunday.

The average was at its highest on July 3 at 52.

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. Health officials 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 69% of hospital beds statewide were in use Sunday. About 1,251 of the 7,296 beds were occupied by patients who either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

DHEC data shows 70% of the beds in Beaufort County hospitals, and 44% 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 8,950 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.