81 new cases of the coronavirus reported in Beaufort Co. Tuesday, no new deaths
Eighty-one new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Beaufort County Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,093 since the pandemic began, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
As of Tuesday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 577 cases.
South Carolina has recorded 60,220 cases of the novel coronavirus, 984 deaths and 9 probable deaths since the pandemic began.
The first and only COVID-19 death of a child was reported in the state Saturday. SC DHEC reported 23 new confirmed COVID-19 deaths in adults Tuesday in the state.
Fourteen of those who died were elderly; nine were middle aged. No new deaths were reported for Beaufort County Tuesday.
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 69 Tuesday. 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 — were seeing an increase in incidence rates for the past two weeks compared to the previous two-week period.
There are currently 1,550 hospital beds occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19, and 203 of those patients are currently on ventilators.
DHEC data shows 67% 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.
Beaufort County cases by ZIP code
Beaufort County could have as many as 12,857 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.
