York County daily coronavirus cases spike by 13 as total tops 100, health officials say
The number of coronavirus cases in York County has now topped 100, and cases in Lancaster County near 50, South Carolina health officials announced Tuesday.
Thirteen new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, were confirmed in York County. Three cases were reported in Lancaster County and one new case was reported in Chester County, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
DHEC reported 187 new cases across the state, for a total of 2,417 cases in all 46 counties. DHEC also announced Tuesday that three more people in the state died after contracting the virus. In all, there have been 51 coronavirus-related deaths in South Carolina, two of whom were York County residents.
Now, there are 108 confirmed cases in York County, according to DHEC. Lancaster County has 46 cases and Chester County has 15.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said although the county’s death toll remains low, the number of cases increase daily, and the county’s two deaths are too many. Tolson urged the public to follow McMaster’s “home or work” order, which goes into effect Tuesday at 5 p.m.
“We ask everyone not to let the perception of a so far relatively low mortality rate lull anyone into thinking that this is over,” Tolson said.
During a York County Council meeting Tuesday, officials declared a county state of emergency due to the coronavirus, which implements emergency operation plans and asks residents to voluntarily stay at home.
Officials in Chester County and Lancaster County also cautioned against residents believing that it is time to let their guard down.
Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile urged the public to stay home as health officials deal with the pandemic and law enforcement works to keep the public safe.
“We appreciate the sacrifices that have been made in an effort to stop the virus from spreading throughout our county,” Faile said in a statement. “We are told that we still have a way to go before we reach the peak of new infections, so we all need to continue to hold the line and look out for our neighbors. Just because you feel fine does not mean you are not a risk to someone else. There are vulnerable people in our county counting on us to do the right thing.”
This week, DHEC started releasing projected numbers of potential positive cases — people who have not been tested yet — in each ZIP code, and the projections show a dramatically higher case count in the region.
There are 686 estimated cases in York County, according to DHEC. In Lancaster County, there are 292 estimated cases and in Chester County, there are 102. There are nearly 17,000 total possible cases in the state, according to DHEC.
According to its website, DHEC calculated the number of estimated cases based on evidence that for every known case, there could be up to nine unidentified people with the virus.
Coronavirus ZIP codes
As of Monday night, there are confirmed cases in the following York County ZIP codes:
- 29708 - 11
- 29710 - 18
- 29715 - 23
- 29730 - 19
- 29732 - 30
- 29745 - 6
- Unknown - 1
There are cases in the following Lancaster County ZIP codes:
- 29058 - 3
- 29067 - 2
- 29707 - 15
- 29720 - 26
There are cases in the following Chester County ZIP codes:
- 29055 - 3
- 29706 - 7
- 29712 - 1
- 29714 - 4
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
