In South Carolina, there were 3,111 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, killing 74 people.National

The 74 deaths are consistent with the highest number of deaths reported in the daily Coronavirus report since DHEC struck South Carolina. On July 25, DHEC also reported that 74 people had died from the virus.

Most of the deaths occurred between December 14th and December 23rd, according to DHEC data. Seven of the dead occurred in November and were recently confirmed to be caused by the coronavirus.

In December alone, DHEC recorded more than 3,000 cases five times daily for more than 21 days, and at least 2,000 cases.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March, the state has recorded a total of 266,678 COVID-19 cases and 4,736 deaths.

The South Carolina Health Agency also reported 151 new possible cases and 7 new possible deaths on Saturday. In total, the agency reported 122,214 possible cases and 388 possible deaths.

DHEC defines possible cases as those who have a positive antigen test, have viral symptoms, and are at high risk of infection. The possibility of death is when the death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause or cause of death, but the person has not been tested for the virus.

Many South Carolinas are still hospitalized. The day after Christmas, 1,758 South Carolinas were hospitalized with COVID-19, accounting for nearly 22.5% of all inpatients in the state.

State health officials said 21.6% of the 14,427 tests reported on Saturday returned positive.

Increased positive rates indicate that communities that have not yet been tested are more likely to be infected with COVID-19 and that testing may need to be enhanced. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization advised the government not to lift the regulation until the positive rate fell below 5% for at least 14 days.

According to DHEC, about 43,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in South Carolina last week, and the state plans to receive more than 30,000 doses this week. As of Tuesday, approximately 20,000 South Carolinas, primarily front-line healthcare workers, were receiving the first dose, officials said.

According to DHEC, care facility residents and staff who are vaccinated with Moderna vaccine only should start their first vaccination next week. Others who are at high risk of becoming infected with the virus or who are at high risk of experiencing serious complications from the virus will be given priority in vaccination over the next few months.

Meanwhile, state health officials advised South Carolina residents to continue measures to mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic, including wearing masks, avoiding mass gatherings, and practicing physical distance.

DHEC encourages anyone with symptoms or those infected with COVID-19 to be tested on their own, and even if they do not have symptoms, regular monthly monthly for those entering and exiting the community. Inspection is recommended.

How are hospitals affected?

As of Saturday, 1,758 South Carolinas remain hospitalized with COVID-19.

Of the patients hospitalized for the virus on Thursday, 357 were in the intensive care unit and 176 were on ventilator.

However, according to DHEC, not all state hospitals reported updates on Saturday. Of the 89 hospitals, 69 reported on the number of coronavirus cases.

Earlier this week, five Upstate Health Centers reported that the ICU had expanded to near capacity. Prisma Health doctors said Monday that the number of COVID-19 patients at the four Midlands Hospitals in the system had increased by about 50% since Thanksgiving, but still has sufficient capacity and resources.

The total bed occupancy rate in hospitals and the bed occupancy rate in the ICU have remained close to 80% since early December.

Data show that Richland County occupied 62.9% of hospital beds on Thursday, and Lexington County used 77.4% of beds.

Which counties will be affected?

Upstate is experiencing the worst coronavirus surge.

On Saturday, Greenville County again led all counties with 531 new COVID-19 cases. There were 199 in Spartanburg County, 149 in Pickens County and 138 in Anderson County.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Midland is below the number of upstates, but has skyrocketed in recent weeks. There were 205 new cases in Richland County and 174 cases in Lexington County. York County also reported 237 higher than usual case counties.

The number of positive tests in the state’s Peedy region is lower than Upstate and Midland, but is increasing, with 92 new viruses in Florence and 162 in Holly on Saturday.

In Lowcountry, Charleston had 112 new COVID-19 cases and Dorchester had 123 on Saturday. Beaufort had 76 new cases.

Of the 74 confirmed deaths reported Thursday, 58 were reported in senior citizens (aged 65 and older) in South Carolina, and 16 casualties were middle-aged (35-64), according to DHEC. was.

South Carolinas of all ages died after being infected with COVID-19, but the disease caused the greatest damage to the elderly. The average age of all South Carolina residents who died from coronavirus complications was 75 years, and the majority (87%) of those who died were over 60 years.

The total number of deaths (probably confirmed) reported by DHEC on Thursday was in the counties of Abbeyville, Charleston, Chester, Colleton, Dillion, Fairfield, Hampton, Kershaw, Lawrence, Newbury and Sumter. One was included.

Other counties reporting confirmed or estimated deaths are Aiken (7), Anderson (7), Darlington (2), Dochester (3), Florence (3), Georgetown (4). , Greenville (5), Holly (7), Lexington. (7), Marion (2), Oconee (2), Pickens (3), Richland (3), Spartanberg (6), Union (2), York (6).

What is the trend of COVID-19 in SC?

The majority of South Carolina recovers from COVID-19 after diagnosis, but the state’s daily case rate has risen by almost 96% in the past month, the highest ever.

According to DHEC, COVID-19 hospitalizations have exceeded 1,000 cases across the state in the last three weeks.

In addition, the number of people tested across the state has skyrocketed over the past 30 days, with an average of 222 tests per 100,000 last month, up 40% from the previous month.

An average of about 20% of these tests have returned positive in the last 30 days.

Overall, more than 3.4 million tests have been conducted in South Carolina.

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