43 new COVID cases reported in Beaufort County as 7-day average continues to decline
Forty-three new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Beaufort County on Monday, according to state health officials.
An additional two probable cases were listed in the data from S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, which was reported Monday afternoon but included information only from as late as Saturday.
DHEC also listed one probable COVID death in the county, which was an elderly person who died on Jan. 29.
The seven-day average of new cases has been slowly dropping for a week. It stands at 57.7 as of Monday.
The average had hit roughly 113 on Jan. 14. That’s because of a surge of cases throughout December and January, during the holidays when people were in closer contact with others. It mirrored other spots around South Carolina and the rest of the country.
Vaccines are available to seniors age 65 and older, local health care workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities, but the rollout has been slow.
Vaccine data
Beaufort Memorial Hospital as of Sunday had utilized 110% of 7,910 first Pfizer-BioNTech doses received. That’s because some Pfizer vials have contained six or even seven doses, but DHEC calculates utilization rates based on the assumption that each vial contains five doses, which was the original expectation late last year. The hospital has used 60% of 3,050 second doses.
Hilton Head Hospital had utilized 160% of 2,225 first doses, according to a chart provided by DHEC. The hospital also had used 92% of 1,225 second doses as of Sunday.
Coastal Carolina Hospital as of Sunday had used 129% of 2,805 first doses. The hospital had utilized 83% of 1,425 second doses.
Pfizer’s vaccine uses a recommended two-dose regimen. The second shot is scheduled three weeks after the first.
Local numbers
Viral test results reported Saturday (the most recent date for which data is available): 844
Average percentage of positive tests in the past week, as of Saturday: 6.99%
Early last week, DHEC announced it was changing the way it calculates the daily percentage of positive tests to be more easily compared with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other entities.
“With the change, the public will notice a big drop in the number representing percent positive. That does not mean the level of spread in the community has decreased,” DHEC wrote in a Tuesday news release.
Officials said they plan to release more information clarifying how exactly the two formulas are different and why the percent positive has dropped so significantly due to the change.
For context, the daily statewide percent positive reported last Monday was more than 20%.
Total cases: 13,240 confirmed, according to DHEC
Total deaths: 151 confirmed, according to DHEC
Two-week cumulative incidence rate as of Saturday: 555.9 cases per 100,000 people, a “high” rate under DHEC’s definition. 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, has previously said counties should aim to have a two-week incidence rate of less than 50 new cases per 100,000 people.
Statewide numbers
Percentage of positive non-antibody tests reported Saturday: 7%
New cases announced Monday: 1,510
Total cases: 414,573 confirmed
New deaths announced Monday: 34
Total deaths: 6,881 confirmed
Cases by ZIP code
Bluffton’s ZIP code of 29910 continues to lead the county with 3,832 cases in the past year. Beaufort’s 29902 ZIP code, meanwhile, has recorded 1,962 cases since last March, the second-highest figure in the county.
Hilton Head Island’s 29928 ZIP code, covering the southeastern part of the island, has 1,018 o. The 29926 ZIP code on the north side has 1,779 cases, according to DHEC data.
Okatie’s 29909 ZIP code, which includes Sun City Hilton Head, has reported 1,025 cases.
Coronavirus infections at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are included 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.
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.
