6 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Beaufort County Tuesday as students return to school
As Beaufort County’s public schools marked the beginning of the academic year Tuesday with thousands of students filling online classrooms, state health officials reported six new COVID-19 cases in the county.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control also released the second iteration of its twice-weekly report pinpointing coronavirus cases in students and staff at the state’s schools. The data show cases associated with just two schools in the county — Lowcountry Montessori School in Beaufort and May River High School in Bluffton.
DHEC listed each school as having fewer than five cases among students, but did not provide an exact figure. The agency cautioned that the newly reported cases don’t necessarily mean students contracted the virus at a school building.
There have been 233 cases associated with schools statewide, according to the latest DHEC data.
No new coronavirus-related deaths were reported Tuesday in Beaufort County.
A small handful of people gathered early Tuesday morning in Old Town Bluffton to protest a local mask requirement, brandishing signs that read “UNDER DURESS” AND “NO MASK,” The Island Packet reported.
Local numbers
- Number of viral and antibody tests conducted: 91
- Percent of positive viral tests for last week (ending Sept. 5): 15.4%
- Rolling seven-day average of new cases per day in Beaufort County: 27.6
- Two-week incidence rate: 213.4 cases per 100,000 people, “moderately high”
An incidence rate measures how quickly a disease is spreading through a given population.
Dr. Scott Curry, an infectious disease specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said counties should aim to have a two-week incidence rate of less than 50 new cases per 100,000 people.
The World Health Organization, meanwhile, has suggested that governments reopen only after the percentage of positive tests is below 5% for at least two weeks.
Statewide numbers
- Percent of positive non-antibody tests: 11.3%
- New cases announced Tuesday: 339
- Total cases: 123,801
- New deaths announced Tuesday: 5
- Total deaths: 2,772
Experts fear a possible surge of new infections this fall as schools resume in-person classes. At the University of South Carolina, over 1,000 students have already been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Cases by ZIP code
Bluffton’s ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 1,217 cases this year. Beaufort’s 29902 ZIP code, meanwhile, has recorded 980 cases since March, the second-highest figure in the county.
Hilton Head’s 29928 ZIP code, covering the southeastern portion of the island, has recorded 279 cases. The 29926 ZIP code covering the north side has 592 cases, according to DHEC data.
Coronavirus infections at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are being reported in the 29902 ZIP code.
More information on Beaufort County ZIP code data can be found at the following link. Click on it, then click on “Go to Cases,” then click on Beaufort County on the S.C. map: bit.ly/BeaufortCountyZIP
DHEC recently changed how it reports ZIP code cases, discontinuing an online list of ZIP codes and corresponding case counts in favor of the map referenced above.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow South Carolina’s coronavirus data is compiled
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s total COVID-19 case count includes anyone who has tested positive since the pandemic began. The data also include those who have recovered or died.
The state agency does not provide an overall, county-by-county number of cases versus the number of people who have recovered.
DHEC counts deaths based on where a patient lives rather than where they died.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 4:37 PM.
