2 deaths and 55 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County Sunday

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

The two died Monday and Friday of last week, the DHEC data shows. The department does not release any other specific information about deaths.

Since the pandemic started, 47 people in Beaufort County have died of COVID-19, according to data from DHEC and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. That number includes 26 deaths recorded in July — the deadliest month for the disease in the county.

South Carolina has had 1,709 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began, including 27 confirmed on Sunday. Three of the individuals were middle-aged, and 24 were 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, such as exact age or gender, is released by the agency.

South Carolina has recorded a total of 91,257 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Fifty-five new cases were announced for the county Sunday, for a total of 3,621 cases since March.

As of Sunday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 946 cases.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 91 Sunday.

The highest average since the pandemic started was recorded on Friday at 98.

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.

Fifteen percent of the 7,306 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Saturday were positive, DHEC says.

Seventy-seven percent of the 1,444 intensive care unit beds in South Carolina were occupied Sunday, according to DHEC.

There are 1,427 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state, with 365 of them in ICU and 230 on a ventilator.

Beaufort County could have as many as 22,243 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, up to nine people could be infected but have not been tested.

The total count 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 that people who die 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.