29 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths reported in Beaufort Co. Wednesday
Twenty-nine new coronavirus cases were reported in Beaufort County on Wednesday, a slight uptick from Tuesday, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data..
Tuesday marked the lowest number of newly confirmed infections in the county - 16 - since early June.
The county’s seven-day average of new cases, meanwhile, was about 29 on Wednesday. That figure has trended downward this month following a record high of 98 on July 31.
As of Wednesday, the Bluffton ZIP code of 29910 continued to lead the county with 1,146 cases. The county has recorded 4,602 total cases this year.
South Carolina has identified 112,643 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, DHEC data show. Statewide, 505 newly confirmed cases were recorded Wednesday.
No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported in Beaufort County on Wednesday.
Sixty-four people in the county have died of COVID-19 this year, according to DHEC. That number includes 28 deaths recorded in July — the county’s deadliest month for the disease.
Fourteen deaths have been reported in August, data show.
The state has confirmed 2,451 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Forty-two of those deaths were reported Wednesday. Thirty-eight of those who died were described as elderly. Four were described as middle aged. Three new probable deaths were also announced by state officials Wednesday.
Just over 20% of the 2,470 non-antibody coronavirus test results reported statewide Tuesday were positive, DHEC said Wednesday.
At medical centers, about 5% of Beaufort County’s COVID-19 cases have resulted in hospitalization this year, according to DHEC data.
Some 74%, or 224, hospital beds in the county were occupied as of Tuesday.
About 8,200 inpatient hospital beds of roughly 10,100 inpatient beds statewide were occupied Wednesday. Almost 1,060 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, with 268 of those people in ICU beds.
Beaufort County could have as many as 26,304 undiagnosed cases, DHEC officials say. That data on estimated cases, though, did not seem to be updated Wednesday.
Positive cases are those in which a patient has been tested for and been diagnosed with the 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.
The state agency 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 a patient lives rather than where they died.
Coronavirus cases at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are being reported in the 29902 ZIP code.
