SC reports 6,697 new COVID cases, 3rd highest total since start of pandemic – WIS10

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Friday, the Department for Health and Environmental Control reported 4,650 new confirmed cases and 2,047 new probable cases of the virus for a total of 6,697. Those numbers are accurate as of August 25.

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

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

DHEC reported 25 new confirmed deaths and 14 new probable deaths, on Friday.

DHEC is no longer giving a date of death for these reports, claiming it violates the privacy of the deceased because of the decrease of COVID-19 deaths across the state.

The agency has also stopped sharing the age range of those who have died from COVID-19 each day, but they are putting out weekly reports with that information on Tuesdays.

Click or tap here to see the latest weekly death report, including counties and age ranges, for Aug. 15 to 22.

While new cases of COVID-19 were on the decline in South Carolina in June, cases have been on the rise since mid-July.

THE LATEST

Hospitalizations in the state are also spiking, with dozens of new people getting hospitalized with COVID-19 each day.

“While deaths due to COVID-19 are declining because of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines that are available, cases and hospitalizations are currently rising in South Carolina, as in many other states, because large numbers of the population remain unvaccinated,” DHEC officials wrote on the agency’s website. “We urge all South Carolinians to protect themselves and others by getting their COVID-19 vaccines if they haven’t already. Vaccines are how we end the COVID-19 pandemic once and for all.”

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

Vaccines are readily available across the state.

COVID-19 VACCINES

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

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

As of August 27, DHEC reported that of vaccine-eligible South Carolina residents:

55.9% have received at least one vaccine — 2,400,373 people
47.1% are fully vaccinated — 2,021,808 people

TRACKING PERCENT POSITIVE

Percent positive refers to the number of people who test positive for COVID-19 in relation to the number of tests being performed.

DHEC says the percent positive from the 41,931 molecular tests most recently reported to them was 14.3% (not including antibody tests).

COVID-19 TESTING

DHEC encourages everyone who is out and about in the community to get tested routinely, at least each month.

Find testing locations by clicking or tapping here.

COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS

As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says 83.46% of inpatient beds in South Carolina are in use while 83.71% of ICU beds are in use.

There are 2,171 hospitalized patients who have COVID-19 which makes up 18.73% of inpatient beds in use for COVID-19, HHS reported. Of those patients, 518 are in the ICU. HHS is reporting that 39.43% of ICU beds are in use for COVID-19.

As of August 25, DHEC reported 2,009 ventilators available in the state with 727 of them in use. COVID-19 patients account for 311 of those.

NOTE: DHEC is now only updating its hospitalization dashboard once a week, which is why WIS is now relying on HHS data for a daily report on hospitalizations. Ventilator numbers will be updated weekly, on Tuesdays.

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

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

Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths Among Not Fully Vaccinated

On July 8, 2021, DHEC began reporting data about COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status.

The agency will continue analyzing the data it has, and report results every two weeks to keep South Carolinians informed about the benefits and limitations of vaccinations.

As of August 17, the analysis revealed more than 90 percent of COVID-19 cases and deaths in June and 86 percent of hospitalizations were among individuals who were not fully vaccinated. DHEC has determined similar rates from July 1-31.

That analysis shows:

DHEC reported 26,848 cases among South Carolinians.

Among the 14,262 reported cases where we were able to determine vaccine status, 12,491 (88%) of cases were considered not fully vaccinated.
Among the 550 reported cases who were hospitalized with COVID and where we were able to determine vaccine status, 424 (77%) were considered not fully vaccinated.
Among the 110 reported deaths from COVID where vaccine status was able to be determined, 87 (79%) were considered not fully vaccinated.

Click here for more information on cases, hospitalizations and deaths among the not fully vaccinated

TRACKING MIS-C AND VIRUS VARIANTS

DHEC has a dashboard that shows the number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19 in South Carolina.

It also shows how many cases of different variants have been found in the state, by type.

As of August 25, there have been 842 reported cases of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 in South Carolina. However, health officials say there are likely far more delta variant cases in the state. DHEC only sends a random sample of positive tests to scan for variants.

KEY INDICATORS OF COVID-19 IN SC

Below is DHEC’s Key Indicators dashboard. It’s meant to give an “at-a-glance view” of important data points used to measure the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

It shows trends in cases, testing, deaths, hospitalizations, and more.

DHEC says all of these factors need to be considered when evaluating the spread of COVID-19 in South Carolina.