One new COVID-19 death reported in Beaufort County Sunday; 96 new cases

An elderly individual from Beaufort County died Saturday from COVID-19, data released by S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control showed Sunday.

The state defines “elderly” as someone age 65 or older. No other identifying information was released by the agency, such as exact age or gender.

The individual is the 37th COVID-19 related death for Beaufort County since the pandemic started, according to DHEC and Beaufort County Coroner’s Office data.

The death is the 15th in July. The month’s death toll surpasses the record of nine, set in April.

Ninety-six new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the county on Sunday, bringing the total to 2,986 since the pandemic began, according to data from DHEC.

As of Sunday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 808 cases.

South Carolina has recorded 80,856 cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,436 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began.

There were 25 confirmed deaths reported Sunday statewide. One of the individuals was identified as a young adult, four as middle aged and 20 as elderly.

DHEC identifies anyone between the ages of 18 and 34 as a young adult and anyone 35 to 64 as middle aged.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 72 Sunday.

The highest seven-day average of 80 was recorded on July 16.

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

DHEC reported that every county but five — Edgefield, Lancaster, Malboro, Cherokee and Oconee — had 301 cases or more per 100,000 people reported between July 7 and July 20.

The state agency also reported that Beaufort was seeing an increase in incidence rates for the past two weeks compared to the previous two-week period. Counties that saw a stable or decreasing rate included Charleston, Marion, Horry, Dillon, Lancaster, Laurens, Pickens and Oconee.

Fifteen percent of of 7,490 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Saturday were positive, DHEC says.

Beaufort County could have as many as 18,343 undiagnosed cases, DHEC officials say.

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.

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’s totals can have small increases and decreases day to day as officials correct discrepancies in the data.

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.

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 July 26, 2020 at 1:53 PM.