7 new coronavirus cases, another death due to COVID-19 reported in Beaufort County
State health officials reported seven more cases of COVID-19 and one additional death due to coronavirus in Beaufort County on Sunday.
The person who died was described as 65 or older. Twelve additional deaths and 619 cases were reported statewide.
There have now been 84 deaths reported from Beaufort County since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The case update from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control comes after several days of artificially low daily case counts because of adjustments to an agency database that tracks test results. The technical update to the database did not impact patient notification of results but delayed reporting from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2, DHEC said.
The agency plans to provide a detailed breakdown of the delayed test results over that period, it said in a release Saturday. That report has not yet been released.
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of daily reported COVID-19 cases continued to decline over the weekend, reaching its lowest level since early June.
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 instruction.
The Beaufort County School District plans to begin in-person classes starting Monday.
Local numbers
- Number of viral test results reported Saturday: 116
- Average percent of positive viral tests in the past week: 9.3%
- Seven-day average of new cases in Beaufort County: 14.43%
- Two-week incidence rate: 144.2 cases per 100,000 people, “moderate”
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 Saturday: 11.8%
- New cases announced Sunday: 619
- Total cases: 146,576
- New deaths announced Sunday: 12
- Total deaths: 3,255 confirmed
Experts fear a possible surge of new infections this fall as schools resume in-person classes. At the University of South Carolina, hundreds of students have already been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Cases by ZIP code
Bluffton’s ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 1,409 cases this year. Beaufort’s 29902 ZIP code, meanwhile, has recorded 1,109 cases since March, the second-highest figure in the county.
Hilton Head Island’s 29928 ZIP code, covering the southeastern part of the island, has 349 cases. The 29926 ZIP code covering the north side has 669 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. The health agency recommends people out in the community or who can’t practice social distancing or wear a masked be tested monthly.
“Recently, our (case) numbers have been slowly trending downward,” said Dr. Linda Bell, DHEC’s top epidemiologist, in late August. “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.
