DHEC reports 45 new COVID-19 cases in Beaufort County on Saturday
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Beaufort County rose again Saturday for the second day in a row after a single-digit count on Thursday.
There were 45 new cases and no additional COVID-19 deaths reported in the county, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Since the pandemic began, 4,699 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the county and 63 have died after being infected, according to DHEC data.
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new daily cases remained at 24.8 Saturday, following a downward trend during most of the month of August and reaching a level last seen in mid-June.
Beaufort County hospitals have also reported a decline in the number of COVID-19 patients receiving treatment, The Island Packet reported.
Although COVID-19 restrictions are still in place through South Carolina, some private high schools, including Hilton Head Christian Academy, played their first football games of what will be an odd season under the Friday night lights.
The game in Beaufort County came just days after University of South Carolina Beaufort officials said all 26 members of its women’s soccer team were in quarantine because two team members tested positive for COVID-19.
The Beaufort County School District has begun sports practices but is slated to have an all-virtual start the Tuesday after Labor Day.
There have been 115,661 confirmed coronavirus cases statewide since the pandemic began, DHEC data show. The health agency confirmed 1,250 additional cases on Saturday and 42 new COVID-19-related deaths across the state.
The disease has resulted in 2,563 confirmed deaths statewide, according to DHEC data.
About 78.4% of the county’s hospital beds were occupied as of Friday.
Across South Carolina, roughly 11.47% of patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Saturday, with 245 of those people in an intensive care unit, according to DHEC.
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 he or she died.
Coronavirus cases at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are being reported in the 29902 ZIP code.
