COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina saw a dip in daily coronavirus cases for the third day in a row and the number of people hospitalized statewide fell below 1,000 for the first time in weeks.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Monday announced 543 new confirmed cases of the virus and 7 additional confirmed deaths. That number is down over over 100 cases from the previous day and is a reduction of almost 400 from the number reported last Thursday.
There were also 19 new probable cases. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 111,202, probable cases to 1,349, confirmed deaths to 2,387, and 124 probable deaths.
Confirmed and probable cases: please click here.
Confirmed and probable deaths: please click here.
The number of patients hospitalized from the virus appears to have fallen below 1,000 for the first time in weeks. It's somewhat difficult making comparisons because the nation changed it's reporting system in July, but based these latest numbers, there were 979 people hospitalized. At one point a few weeks ago, that number was over 1,700.
More Than 240 Mobile Testing Clinics Scheduled Statewide
Testing for COVID-19 is essential because it helps identify people who are infected with the virus, whether or not they have symptoms, so they can isolate themselves and keep those around them from becoming infected, especially at-risk individuals who can develop life-threatening illness if they contract the virus. Identifying those with COVID-19 who have symptoms helps ensure they receive the medical treatment they need.
DHEC is working with community partners to set up mobile testing clinics and make testing available in communities across the state. Currently, there are 243 mobile testing events scheduled through October 13 with new testing events added regularly. Find a mobile testing clinic event near you at scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics.
Residents can visit scdhec.gov/covid19testing for information about getting tested at one of 223 permanent COVID-19 testing facilities across the state.
Testing in South Carolina
As of Sunday, a total of 958,722 tests have been conducted in the state. See a detailed breakdown of tests in South Carolina on the Data and Projections webpage. DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week, and the Public Health Laboratory’s current timeframe for providing results to health care providers is 24-48 hours.
Percent Positive
The total number of individual test results reported to DHEC Sunday statewide was 4,090 (not including antibody tests) and the percent positive was 13.3%.
Hospital Bed Occupancy
Since July 22, the federal government has required hospitals nationwide to report data directly to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a new TeleTracking system, which replaces the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Healthcare Safety Network system that had been used initially by hospitals for reporting COVID-19 data.
Hospitals report their information each day to HHS by way of TeleTracking, and that same reporting is also provided to DHEC. Click here to view data from today's TeleTracking report.
For the latest information related to COVID-19 visit scdhec.gov/COVID-19. Visit scdmh.net for stress, anxiety and mental health resources from the S.C. Department of Mental Health.