55 new coronavirus cases, no deaths reported in Beaufort Co. Friday
Beaufort County on Friday recorded 55 new cases of the coronavirus, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data.
The county had no new deaths Friday, DHEC said.
Since the pandemic began, the county has had 2,333 cases of COVID-19. The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 630 confirmed cases.
The county has seen six deaths from COVID-19 this month — seven were reported in June. Since the start of the pandemic, 27 people have died in the county as of Thursday, according to Beaufort County Coroner’s Office data.
DHEC on Friday announced 1,964 new coronavirus cases and 25 newly confirmed deaths statewide. South Carolina has recorded a total of 65,857 novel coronavirus cases and 1,078 confirmed deaths since March.
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 75 on Friday — one of the highest this year. The county’s lowest seven-day average of new cases was zero on May 9.
DHEC has reported Beaufort County as one of 32 counties with the highest “incidence rates” in the state. Public health officials said the 32 counties each had 301 cases or more per 100,000 people reported between June 30 and July 13.
The state agency also reported that every county in the state but six — Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Marlboro, Pickens and Sumter — were seeing an increase in incidence rates for the past two weeks compared to the previous two-week period.
About 72.3% of hospital beds statewide were in use Friday. About 1,590 of the roughly 7,880 occupied beds were filled by patients who had either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.
DHEC data show 67% of the beds in Beaufort County hospitals, and 57.1% in Jasper County, were in use as of Friday. DHEC does not provide a county-by-county breakdown of how hospital beds are being used.
Around 17% of 11,257 viral COVID-19 tests completed statewide Thursday were positive, according to DHEC.
Beaufort County could have as many as 14,331 undiagnosed cases, health 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 that someone who dies from the coronavirus might have had.
Positive cases are those in which a patient has been tested for and diagnosed with COVID-19. 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 start of the pandemic. The data also includes those who have recovered or died. DHEC counts deaths based on where a 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.
