York County has seven new coronavirus cases; SC total exceeds 400
York County saw its largest daily increase in coronavirus cases since its first case was confirmed last week, South Carolina health officials announced Wednesday.
York County has seven new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, bringing the county total to 18, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
DHEC announced Tuesday it is investigating 82 new cases of the virus across the state. South Carolina now has 424 total confirmed cases in 39 counties and, as of Wednesday, seven people in the state have died after contracting the virus, according to DHEC.
DHEC has not been releasing specific detail about new cases, like where patients live in each county, if the patients have been hospitalized or how patients may have contracted COVID-19. On Wednesday, DHEC released a breakdown of who is contracting the virus in the state.
According to the data, about 20% of known cases involve adults ages 61 to 70. South Carolina residents ages 51 to 60 make up 17% of the cases. The average age of those affected was 52.
The DHEC data show younger people are getting the disease, too. Individuals between ages 20 and 31 make up 12% of cases. In one case, a 2-month-old tested positive for the virus.
There’s about an even split among men and women who have tested positive, the new data show. And about one quarter of individuals with the virus were hospitalized, according to the data.
Lancaster and Chester counties did not report new cases. Chester County had its first case confirmed Monday and Lancaster County has six cases. A previous case was subtracted from the county’s total because DHEC determined the individual lived out of the state.
Winthrop University Interim President George Hynd announced Monday that a Winthrop student tested positive for the coronavirus.
Winthrop was not made aware of the case by DHEC, Judy Longshaw, university spokesperson, said. The case was diagnosed out of state and the person reported it to the school.
Joel Hamilton, York County Councilman, said there is concern that the number of local cases rose again. But Hamilton said he is encouraged that the numbers show the local public appears to be following hygiene, social distancing and stay-at-home advice, which can keep the coronavirus from spreading.
“York County government and business leaders, and the community, acted quickly when this issue came up,” Hamilton said. “People here are doing what they can for safety.”
Like many other top York County officials, Hamilton remains concerned that first responders still have not received specific information about where cases are in York County.
“We all understand DHEC has a job to do but we also have to make sure the first responders who are out in this community are safe and have the information they need,” Hamilton said.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said concerns remain about the lack of information on locations and other details about positive cases getting from state officials to first responders.
Several officials in York, Chester and Lancaster counties have expressed concern that first responders could be at risk if they come in contact with positive cases. First responders, if exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus, would likely not be able to work in that job for weeks, officials said.
“While we know that the numbers are expected to grow, we are hopeful that the flow and type of information coming from the state will increase as well,” Tolson said. “Our first responders need as much information as possible about where this virus is, so they can better protect themselves and remain available for service to the community.”
Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight Deese said first responders who go into situations without complete information on a patient could be “sitting ducks” for exposure to the virus.
“In any death investigation, the key to the entire case is the history,” Knight-Deese said. “ Without being provided known histories of patients who are COVID-19 positive, exposure, location, all first responders are sitting ducks. As a nation, our state agencies are working hard to protect the public and save lives. The same should be considered for our first responders, in this time of unknown. If we know the risk beforehand, we can prepare.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 4:10 PM.
