53 new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort Co.; DHEC releases delayed state test results
South Carolina public health officials on Tuesday announced 53 new COVID-19 cases in Beaufort County. No new deaths were reported in the county Tuesday.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control also said Tuesday that a Georgia lab had not reported to DHEC roughly 13,000 negative and 2,000 positive coronavirus test results conducted in the Palmetto State from March 18 to Sept. 17.
Those results “are reflected in today’s cumulative numbers and are assigned to the day the result was reported by the lab to the health care provider,” DHEC wrote in a news release.
“DHEC was unaware of the results for all South Carolina residents whose specimens were tested at Augusta University Healthcare and unable to perform contact investigations for every one of these positive cases,” the agency wrote.
As of Tuesday, the state agency reported that 5,447 coronavirus cases had been confirmed in Beaufort County since March.
On Monday, DHEC had recorded 5,391 COVID-19 cases in the county. That’s a difference of 56 cases.
Since mid-August, Beaufort County has seen fewer daily cases. And DHEC on Monday again classified the county as having “medium” recent disease activity.
But the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the area has also dropped. And some experts fear a possible surge of cases this fall as schools resume face-to-face classes.
Local numbers
Viral test results reported Monday: 141
Percent of positive viral tests in the past week: 15.4%
Seven-day average of new cases in Beaufort County: 27.2
Total cases: 5,447 confirmed
Total deaths: 78 confirmed
Two-week incidence rate: 204.6 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, 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 reported Monday: 14.3%
New cases announced Tuesday: 739
Total cases: 137,406 confirmed
New deaths announced Tuesday: 30
Total deaths: 3,067 confirmed
Cases by ZIP code
Bluffton’s ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 1,297 cases this year. Beaufort’s 29902 ZIP code, meanwhile, has recorded 1,081 cases since March, the second-highest figure in the county.
Hilton Head’s 29928 ZIP code, covering the southeastern part of the island, has 334 cases. The 29926 ZIP code on the north side has 642 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
What are DHEC’s recommendations?
State health officials say residents should continue to practice social distancing and should wear a mask in public.
“Recently, our (case) numbers have been slowly trending downward,” said Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s top epidemiologist, late last month. “For that to continue, we cannot let up.”
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 22, 2020 at 3:56 PM.
