18 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County on Monday, for total of 4,357

Beaufort County’s 18 new coronavirus cases Monday bring the total to 4,357 since March, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 1,087 cases.

South Carolina has recorded 105,905 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

No new deaths were reported in Beaufort County on Monday.

Since the pandemic started, 60 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 county’s deadliest month for the disease.

Ten deaths have been reported so far in August in the county.

South Carolina has had 1,048 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began, including 20 confirmed on Monday. One of the individuals is described as a young adult, three as middle aged and 16 as 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.

Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily coronavirus cases was 35 as of Monday. That is the lowest the average has been since mid-June.

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 Aug. 3 and Sunday, the county had a high incidence rate of 365.9 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 37,889 tests completed in the county since the pandemic started, 15% have been positive.

Eleven percent of the 3,930 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Sunday were positive, DHEC says.

There have been 224 hospitalizations in Beaufort County since the pandemic started.

About 9.6% of the county’s COVID-19 patients required hospitalization at the time of illness, DHEC reports.

Sixty-one percent or 173 Beaufort County hospital beds were occupied Sunday.

Nearly 76% of inpatient hospital beds statewide were occupied as of Sunday. COVID-19 patients accounted for 1,083 of the 7,773 occupied beds.

Of the 1,564 ventilators statewide, 512 are in use, and 175 of those are COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 patients also are occupying 282 of the 1,444 intensive care unit beds in the state.

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 been 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.