30 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County on Sunday; 4,504 total cases

Thirty new coronavirus cases were reported in Beaufort County Sunday, bringing the total to 4,504 since March, according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 1,122 cases.

South Carolina has recorded 110,658 cases of the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Since the pandemic started, 64 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.

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

South Carolina has had 2,380 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began, including eight confirmed on Sunday. One of the individuals are described as middle age and seven 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 age; 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 27 as of Sunday.

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. 9 and Saturday, the county had a high incidence rate of 242 per 100,000 people, according to DHEC.

DHEC reports the county has seen a decreasing two-week incident rate compared to the previous two-week period.

Of the 38,559 tests completed in the county since the pandemic started, 15% have been positive.

Fourteen percent of the 4,450 COVID-19 tests completed statewide Sunday were positive, DHEC says.

There have been 238 hospitalizations in Beaufort County since the pandemic started.

About 9.3% of the county’s COVID-19 patients required hospitalization at the time of illness, DHEC reports.

Some 77.2%, or 173, Beaufort County hospital beds were occupied Sunday.

About 78% of inpatient hospital beds statewide were occupied as of Sunday. COVID-19 patients accounted for 1,026 of the 7,909 occupied beds.

Of the 1,634 ventilators statewide, 554 are in use, and 150 of those are COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 patients also are occupying 150 of the 1,470 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.

This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 4:27 PM.