66 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County Sunday, bringing the total to 1,981

Sixty-six new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Beaufort County Sunday, bringing the total to 1,981 since the pandemic began, 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 555 cases.

South Carolina has recorded 56,485 cases of the novel coronavirus and 950 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began.

The first two cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, associated with COVID-19 were confirmed in the state Sunday.

One child is from the Midlands region and one from the PeeDee region. Both are under the age of 10.

MIS-C is a rare health condition that develops in some children and teenagers who have contracted COVID-19, DHEC says.

The first and only COVID-19 death of a child was reported in the state Saturday.

The state reported 10 new confirmed COVID-19 deaths in adults Sunday in the state.

Eight of the people who died were elderly; two were middle aged.

No new deaths were reported for Beaufort County Sunday.

This month, the county has seen three deaths from COVID-19. Seven were reported in June.

Since the pandemic began in March, 24 COVID-19 related deaths have been connected to the county, according the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 75 Sunday. That’s the highest it has been since the pandemic started.

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

DHEC reported Beaufort County as one of 24 counties with the highest incidence rates in the state. Health officials reported that the 24 counties each had 301 cases or more per 100,000 people reported between June 23 and July 6.

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

About 72% of hospital beds statewide were in use Wednesday. About 1,472 of the 7,721 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 57% in Jasper County, were in use. DHEC does not provide a county-by-county breakdown of how hospital beds are being used.

Twenty-one percent of 8,769 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Saturday were positive, DHEC says.

Beaufort County could have as many as 12,169 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.