More than 900 new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday as SC outbreak continues

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – On Thursday, the Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 474 new confirmed cases and 455 new probable cases of the virus. These figures are correct as of July 20.

The difference between confirmed and probable cases is based on the type of test a person receives. The probable cases are treated as cases confirmed by the doctors, specifies the DHEC.

To view confirmed and probable cases by county, click or tap here.

DHEC also reported seven new confirmed deaths on Thursday.

The agency has stopped sharing the age range of those who died from COVID-19, but all of the deaths have been in the past week.

Click or tap here to view confirmed and probable deaths by county.

While new cases of COVID-19 were down in South Carolina in June, cases are now on the rise. The number of COVID-19 cases remains low from the winter outbreak, but the number of cases is increasing – reaching levels not seen in South Carolina since before the vaccine was readily available.

DHEC leaders have repeatedly stated that the vast majority of people hospitalized and who died from COVID-19 were not vaccinated.

Other factors contribute to this, including the presence of the delta variant in South Carolina.

THE LAST

Health officials continue to urge all residents to get vaccinated against the virus.

A recent review of DHEC data suggests that people who are not fully vaccinated account for nearly all hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.

COVID-19 VACCINES

Anyone over the age of 12 in South Carolina is currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Get more details and make an appointment by clicking or pressing here.

As of July 20, DHEC reported that among South Carolina residents eligible for the vaccine:

• 50% received at least one vaccine – 2,147,032 people
• 44% are fully vaccinated – 1,890,941 people

PERCENTAGE OF POSITIVE MONITORING

Percentage positive refers to the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 compared to the number of tests performed.

DHEC reports that the percentage of positive results on the 6,153 molecular tests most recently reported to them was 10.8% (not including antibody tests).

COVID-19 TEST

DHEC encourages everyone who travels in the community to get tested regularly, at least monthly.

Find test locations by clicking or tapping here.

COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS

From Thursday, the US Department of Health and Human Services says 79.55% of inpatient beds in South Carolina are in use while 72.59% of intensive care beds are in use.

There are 328 hospital patients who have COVID-19, HHS reported. Of these patients, 92 are in intensive care.

As of Tuesday, DHEC reported 1,925 ventilators available in the state, of which 351 are in service. 26 of them are COVID-19 patients.

NOTE: DHEC now only updates its hospitalization dashboard once a week, which is why WIS now relies on HHS data for a daily hospitalization report.

Click here for more information on hospital bed occupancy by county.

For more information on nursing homes and long-term care facilities affected by the virus, click or tap here.

MONITORING MIS-C AND VIRUS VARIANTS

DHEC has a dashboard that indicates the number of cases of Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19 in South Carolina.

It also shows how much case of different variants were found as is, by type.

To date, there have been 54 reported cases of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 in South Carolina.

KEY INDICATORS OF COVID-19 IN HC

Below is the dashboard of DHEC’s key indicators. It is intended to give a “big picture” of important data points used to measure the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

It shows trends in cases, tests, deaths, hospitalizations, etc.

DHEC says all of these factors should be taken into account when assessing the spread of COVID-19 in South Carolina.

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