2 COVID-19 deaths reported in Beaufort County on Friday; 30 new cases
Two new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Beaufort County on Friday, according S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data, bringing the total county death toll to 62 since the pandemic began.
The deaths reported Friday were a middle-aged patient who died on Aug. 11 and an elderly patient who died on Aug. 19.
DHEC describes middle aged as someone between 35 and 64 while elderly is anyone over 65. The agency does not release information on patients who have died other than their age grouping and the date of their death.
DHEC also reported 30 new confirmed cases in Beaufort County. The county has had 4,461 cases since the pandemic began.
The Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 1,116 cases.
There were 52 deaths and 967 new cases reported statewide Friday. Since the pandemic began, 109,135 cases have been confirmed and 2,339 people have died after being diagnoses with the illness.
Labs and clinics have been returning COVID-19 test results faster than they were last month when some patients were waiting two weeks or more for results, The Island Packet previously reported.
The number of positive coronavirus cases in Beaufort County has dropped recently, but that drop coincided with a decline in the number of tests administered in the county, according to DHEC.
The total number of individual test results, not including antibody tests, reported to DHEC Thursday statewide was 7,436 and the percent positive was 13.0%.
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 U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are being reported in the 29902 ZIP code.
