On Thursday (May14), the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 3,301 inpatient hospital beds available and 7,077 in use, which is a 68.19% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 7,077 inpatient beds currently used, 443 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.
DHEC reported 172 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and nine additional deaths.
This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 8,189 and those who have died to 371.
Five of those deaths occurred in elderly individuals in Fairfield (2), Greenwood (1), Laurens (1), and Lexington (1) counties, and four of the deaths occurred in a middle-aged individual in Clarendon (2), Pickens (1) and Richland (1) counties.
The number of new cases by county are:
Aiken (4), Anderson (10), Beaufort (2), Berkeley (1), Charleston (2), Chesterfield (5), Colleton (9), Darlington (4), Dillon (9), Dorchester (1), Fairfield (12), Florence (19), Greenville (16), Greenwood (1), Hampton (1), Horry (7), Lancaster (3), Laurens (3), Lee (1), Lexington (9), Marlboro (7), Oconee (2), Orangeburg (2), Pickens (1), Richland (14), Saluda (2), Spartanburg (4), Sumter (5), Williamsburg (8), York (8)
To help protect against COVID-19, DHEC encourages everyone to wear a mask covering whenever in public. When wearing a mask, South Carolinians should:
- Make sure you can breathe through it
- Wear it whenever going out in public
- Make sure it covers your nose and mouth
- Wash your hands before taking it on or off
- Wash after using
You should not:
- Use on children under age 2
- Touch the front of the mask
- Use surgical masks needed by healthcare workers
Homemade masks may reduce the amount of virus one breathes out and may prevent you from touching your nose and mouth. This measure is recommended to be used in situations where social distancing may be difficult to maintain like at a grocery store, pharmacy, etc. It is intended to protect others from people who may be infected with the virus and able to spread it but not showing symptoms yet.
For a link to a video on how to make your own mask, click here.
Testing in South Carolina
As of May 13, DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory has conducted 23,192 tests for COVID-19. Of these tests, 2,905 were positive and 20,287 were negative. A total of 102,535 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.
