1 death and 86 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County Tuesday

The COVID-19 related death of an elderly Beaufort County person was reported Tuesday by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The person died Saturday, DHEC data shows. The department does not release any other specific information about deaths.

It is the 37th COVID-19 death in the county, according to data from DHEC and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. That number includes 16 deaths so far in July. The month’s death toll surpasses the record of nine, set in April.

South Carolina has recorded 1,505 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began.

Statewide, there were 52 confirmed deaths reported Tuesday. One of the people was described as “pediatric” by DHEC. The deaths included three young adults, eight middle-aged people and 40 described as elderly.

DHEC identifies anyone between the ages of 18 and 34 as a young adult; 35 to 64 as middle aged; and 65 or older as elderly. No other identifying information was released by the agency, such as exact age or gender.

South Carolina has recorded a total of 83,720 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Eighty-six new cases were announced for Beaufort County Tuesday for a total of 3,180 cases.

As of Tuesday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 867 cases.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 87 Tuesday. That is the highest average since the pandemic started.

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

DHEC reported that every county in the state but four — Spartanburg, Marlboro, Pickens and Oconee — had 301 cases or more per 100,000 people, reported between July 14 and July 27.

The state agency also reported that Beaufort County was seeing an increase in incidence rates for the past two weeks compared to the previous two-week period.

Eighteen percent of the 8,689 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Monday were positive, DHEC says.

Seventy-seven percent of the 1,119 intensive care unit beds in South Carolina were occupied Tuesday, according to DHEC.

There are 1,575 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state with 401 of them in ICU and 256 on a ventilator.

Beaufort County could have as many as 19,534 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.