1 COVID-19 death announced in Beaufort Co. Thursday amid ‘medium’ disease activity
State health officials on Thursday announced an additional COVID-19 death in Beaufort County.
A person described as elderly died on Sept. 11 after contracting the coronavirus, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Thirty-one new COVID-19 cases were also confirmed in the county Thursday.
Since mid-August, Beaufort County has seen fewer daily cases. But the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the area has dropped recently. And some experts fear a possible surge of infections as face-to-face instruction resumes at schools.
Six Hilton Head Island High School students recently contracted COVID-19, according to an email sent Tuesday from a principal.
The students started to exhibit symptoms or tested positive between Sept. 30 and Oct. 5. None of them was in a school building Monday, when “hybrid” classes began, according to the principal.
DHEC on Thursday, meanwhile, again classified Beaufort County as having “medium” recent disease activity.
Local numbers
Viral test results reported Wednesday: 244
Average percent of positive viral tests in the past week: 8.3%
Seven-day average of new cases in Beaufort County: 14.1
Total cases: 5,762 confirmed, according to DHEC
Total deaths: 84 confirmed, according to DHEC
Two-week incidence rate: 128 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.
Statewide numbers
Percent of positive non-antibody tests reported Wednesday: 11.8%
New cases announced Thursday: 859
Total cases: 149,219 confirmed
New deaths announced Thursday: 12
Total deaths: 3,311 confirmed
Cases by ZIP code
Bluffton’s ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 1,422 cases this year. Beaufort’s 29902 ZIP code, meanwhile, has recorded 1,128 cases since March, the second-highest figure in the county.
Hilton Head’s 29928 ZIP code, covering the southeastern part of the island, has 357 cases. The 29926 ZIP code on the north side has 680 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.
People who are active in the community or those who can’t effectively social distance or wear a mask should be tested for COVID-19 monthly, according to DHEC.
“Recently, our (case) numbers have been slowly trending downward,” said Dr. Linda Bell, the state’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.
