Coronavirus

SC reports fewer than 300 new COVID-19 cases, lowest daily total since July

READ MORE


COVID-19 spikes again in South Carolina

Here’s the latest on the omicron variant surge, COVID-19 guidance and more in South Carolina.

Expand All

South Carolina reported fewer than 300 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, which hasn’t happened since July.

Wednesday also marked the 12th straight day of fewer than 1,000 daily cases, another reduction in cases which hasn’t occurred since July when case numbers were at its lowest since the pandemic began.

The Palmetto State’s downward trend of cases shows the spread of the virus has slowed significantly compared to months earlier. Only once over the past 19 days has the state reported more than 1,000 cases, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Of the 271 new cases Wednesday, at least 162 of the new cases are listed as “probable” rather than confirmed. That brings the state’s total COVID-19 case count to more than 905,000 since March 2020.

The state conducted 5,089 tests for Wednesday’s data, with 8% coming back positive. The state health department said cases reported came from testing completed two days earlier.

The agency also reported 27 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 13,923 since the start of the pandemic last year. Nearly 1,000 people have died of COVID-19 in South Carolina over the past month alone.

Over the past month, the number of tests conducted have also declined, resulting in fewer positive cases, though the positivity rate of those tests have also seen a decrease.

About 43.3% of the new cases reported Tuesday were people age 30 and under.

Children 10 and younger made up 17.1% of the new cases, while 13.1% of the cases were diagnosed in people between the ages of 11-20.

At the earlier height of the pandemic between December 2019 and February 2020, only 5.8% of positive cases were kids 10 and under.

The highly contagious delta variant is likely responsible for the majority of new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina, according to state health officials. The exact number of delta cases is unknown because only a fraction of confirmed cases undergo genome sequencing, the process to determine the variant.

There have been 438 deaths — 0.0185% of all cases — as of Nov. 5 from “breakthrough” cases, meaning the person was fully vaccinated. The majority of deaths — 60% — are people age 71 and up. About 65% of those who died had comorbid conditions. And 0.725% of all fully vaccinated people have been infected, while nearly 0.057% of fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized.

Health officials recommend wearing a face mask and getting the coronavirus vaccine to help limit the spread of the virus.

South Carolina’s vaccination rate is 55.5%, among the lowest in the country.

This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 12:05 PM with the headline "SC reports fewer than 300 new COVID-19 cases, lowest daily total since July."

Follow More of Our Reporting on Coronavirus in South Carolina

Andrew Caplan
The State
Andrew Caplan is a watchdog journalist who hails from Florida. He comes to The State Media Company after winning several statewide awards for investigative work covering elected officials, as well as public and government entities. He holds a master’s degree from the University of South Florida.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER

COVID-19 spikes again in South Carolina

Here’s the latest on the omicron variant surge, COVID-19 guidance and more in South Carolina.