Record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Beaufort County on Friday
Beaufort County on Friday logged a record 231 new coronavirus cases as the delta variant continued to sweep the state.
The county’s previous single-day high was 227 cases on Jan. 8, which was the peak of South Carolina’s winter surge.
Forty-seven probable infections were also recorded in the county Friday. A COVID-19 death was confirmed, too.
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of Friday, also spiked to 133 infections per day, which set a new record.
Daily case counts have returned to levels last seen this past winter.
Health experts attribute the recent surge to South Carolina’s lagging vaccination rate and the super-contagious delta variant, which was first discovered in India late last year.
Delta has been rapidly spreading through the Palmetto State since early July.
“We have to stop transmission now. We must take action now,” Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s top epidemiologist, told reporters Wednesday. “It previously seemed unimaginable, but we could soon be seeing 5,000 or 6,000 cases a day if we do not do more.”
Roughly 4,470 confirmed and probable cases were reported statewide Friday.
“We are headed in the wrong direction right now, and we are headed there quickly,” Bell said.
Here’s the latest Beaufort County coronavirus data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
New cases reported Friday: 231 confirmed, 47 probable
New deaths reported Friday: 1 confirmed
Seven-day average of new cases: 133 confirmed infections per day
Two-week incidence rate: 1,035.3 cases per 100,000 people
ZIP code data
Bluffton ZIP code, 29910: 5,486 cases since the pandemic began
Hilton Head Island ZIP code, 29926: 2,315 cases
Hilton Head ZIP code, 29928: 1,346 cases
Beaufort ZIP code, 29902: 2,667 cases
Okatie ZIP code, 29909: 1,395 cases
