40 new coronavirus cases reported in Beaufort County on Friday, no deaths
State health officials reported 40 new cases of coronavirus Friday in Beaufort County and no additional deaths.
More than 1,000 cases were reported throughout South Carolina, the highest number this week.
Sixty people in Beaufort County have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to data from S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. That number includes 28 deaths recorded in July — the county’s deadliest month for the disease.
Ten deaths have been reported so far in August in the county.
South Carolina has had 2,106 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began. That includes 16 confirmed deaths Friday, with 12 described by health officials as elderly and four middle-aged.
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 103,880 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Beaufort County has had 4,282 cases as of Friday, according to DHEC.
The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 1,074 reported cases.
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 43 as of Friday, the lowest average since June 29.
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.
Between July 29 and Aug. 11, the county had a “high” incident rate of 484.1 per 100,000 people, according to DHEC.
The county showed a stable two-week incidence rate trend, meaning cases did not significantly increase or decrease from the previous two weeks.
Of the 34,522 tests completed in the county since the pandemic started, 15 percent have been positive.
Of the 6,763 tests reported to DHEC on Thursday, 15 percent were positive.
Beaufort County hospitals were 72 percent occupied through Thursday, with 79 of 282 beds available.
Cases by ZIP code
Beaufort County could have as many as 26,304 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 14, 2020 at 3:01 PM.
