2 new COVID-19 deaths reported in Beaufort County Thursday; 71 new cases

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

One of the individuals died Wednesday and the other on July 30, the DHEC data shows. The department does not release any other specific information about deaths.

Since the pandemic started, 53 people in Beaufort County have died of COVID-19, according to data from DHEC and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. That number includes 28 deaths recorded in July — the deadliest month for the disease in the county.

Three deaths have been reported so far in August in Beaufort County.

South Carolina has had 1,863 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began, including 44 confirmed on Thursday. Four of the individuals were described as middle aged and 40 elderly.

DHEC identifies anyone under the age of 18 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 96,132 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Beaufort County had 71 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, for a total of 3,911 cases since March.

The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 987 cases.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 76 Thursday.

The highest average since the pandemic started was recorded on July 31 at 98.

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

The county had 301 cases or more per 100,000 people, reported between July 21 and Aug. 3, DHEC reports.

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

Nineteen percent of the 6,589 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Wednesday were positive, DHEC says.

Seventy-six percent of the 1,459 intensive care unit beds in South Carolina were occupied Thursday, according to DHEC.

There are 1,492 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state, with 356 of them in ICU and 276 on a ventilator.

Beaufort County could have as many as 24,025 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.

This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 3:53 PM.