2 deaths and 97 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County Wednesday

The COVID-19 related deaths of two elderly Beaufort County residents were reported Wednesday by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

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

There have been 39 COVID-19 deaths in the county since the pandemic started, according to data from DHEC and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. That number includes 18 deaths so far in July. The month’s death toll doubles the previous record set in April of nine.

DHEC also announced a third July 17 death of a Beaufort County resident. The information provided appears to match a death already reported by the Coroner’s Office.

South Carolina has recorded 1,551 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began.

Statewide, there were 48 confirmed deaths reported Wednesday. Eleven of the individuals were middle-aged and 37 are described as elderly.

DHEC identifies anyone under the age of 17 as pediatric; 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 is released by the agency, such as exact age or gender.

South Carolina has recorded a total of 85,423 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Ninty-seven new cases were announced for the county Wednesday for a total of 3,277 cases.

As of Wednesday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 882 cases.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 89 Wednesday.. 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.

Nineteen percent of the 8,360 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Tuesday were positive, DHEC says.

Seventy-nine percent of the 1,451 intensive care unit beds in South Carolina were occupied Wednesday, according to DHEC.

There are 1,596 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state with 404 of them in ICU and 242 on a ventilator.

Beaufort County could have as many as 20,130 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.