Coronavirus could kill 1,000 in SC, projections say. How does that compare to the flu?

Coronavirus deaths in South Carolina will far outnumber those caused by the flu, data shows.

Even in a bad year, influenza’s mortality rate is relatively low compared to what a coronavirus projection from The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evalutation (IHME) predicts.

In a little under a month, COVID-19 is expected topeak in South Carolina, at which time an average of 32 people coulddie every day as a result of the virus, before rapidly tapering off in May.

How do COVID-19 deaths compare to flu?

Over 1,000 people in the state, or as many as 1,500, are projected to die from the coronavirus. By June 8, no more deaths are expected, according to the IHME projection.

During the 2017-2018 flu season, 289 South Carolinians died from flu-related complications and about 4,500 were hospitalized, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

DHEC described that flu season as “severe.”

The following season was more mild. Just over 100 died because of the flu in 2018-2019, according to department reports.

This current flu season has seen 109 flu-related deaths and 2870 hospitalizations, DHEC data shows.

Complications in health care

Coronavirus could also put the state’s health care infrastructure to the test, according to the projection.

Together, intensive care units across the state are predicted to be short by 88 beds during the peak coronavirus period.

Meanwhile, no shortage is projected for standard hospital beds — 3,222 will be needed during the worst of it, and 4,679 are available.

The model based predictions on information from the World Health Organization, such as confirmed infections, deaths, and hospital capacity.

This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Coronavirus could kill 1,000 in SC, projections say. How does that compare to the flu?."