Governor’s Daily COVID-19 Update

I receive the following update from the Governor’s office each day.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 105 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and 10 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 3,656 and those who have died to 107.

Of those 10 deaths, seven were elderly individuals with underlying health conditions from Colleton (1), Georgetown (1), Greenville (1), Kershaw (2), Lancaster (1), and Spartanburg (1) counties; one was an elderly individual from McCormick County (1) whose health conditions are still under investigation; and two were middle-aged individuals with underlying health conditions from Richland (1) and Sumter (1) counties.

The number of new cases by county are listed below.
Abbeville (1), Anderson (3), Beaufort (7), Berkeley (3), Charleston (7), Chester (2), Chesterfield (1) Clarendon (1), Colleton (3), Dillon (2), Dorchester (5), Edgefield (1), Florence (5), Greenville (27), Greenwood (1), Hampton (1), Lee (1), Lancaster (1), Lexington (10), Newberry (1), Richland (13),  Saluda (1), Spartanburg (1), Sumter (5), Williamsburg (2)

Calhoun and Horry counties lost one positive case each from its total counts as an individual previously reported for each county was determined during case investigations to be the resident of another county.

DHEC’s COVID-19 webpage is updated daily with a map of positive cases as well as the most current recommendations for protecting against COVID-19.

Testing in South Carolina
As of April 14, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 10,935 tests for COVID-19. Of these tests, 1,304 positive and 9,631 were negative. A total of 34,733 total tests by both DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory and private labs have been conducted in the state. DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week. The Public Health Laboratory’s current timeframe for providing results to health care providers is 24-48 hours.

Hospital Bed Capacity
As of this morning, 5,188 hospital beds are available and 6,271 are utilized, which is a 54.7% statewide hospital bed utilization rate.

Cases by County and ZIP Code
DHEC’s interactive maps were updated to include the latest confirmed and estimated COVID-19 cases by county and ZIP code. The estimated cases represent possible cases based on evidence that for every known case of COVID-19, there could be up to 9 people with the virus who remain unidentified in the community. By including estimates, we hope to better convey the risk of disease spread within our communities.

How South Carolinians Can Protect Themselves
South Carolinians are encouraged to stay home and minimize contact with people outside their households to prevent the spread of the disease. Other steps the public should take include:

• Monitoring for symptoms
• Practicing social distancing
• Avoiding touching frequently touched items
• Regularly washing your hands

Anyone with concerns about their health should reach out to their healthcare provider or use the telehealth services provided by several health care systems. For telehealth options and the latest information about DHEC’s COVID-19 response efforts, please visit scdhec.gov/COVID-19. Visit scdmh.net for stress, anxiety and mental health resources from the S.C. Department of Mental Health.

*As new information is provided to the department, some changes in cases may occur. Cases are reported based on the person’s county of residence, as it is provided to the department. DHEC’s COVID-19 map will adjust to reflect any reclassified cases.

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