Lancaster County sees highest single-day coronavirus case increase; SC passes 3,000
The York County region saw more coronavirus, or COVID-19, cases Friday as the total of positive cases and deaths increased across South Carolina.
Lancaster County saw an increase of 10 positive coronavirus cases Friday, to a total of 61 since the pandemic started, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
York County went up five cases Friday to 125.
Chester County added one positive case and stands at 17.
It’s unclear why Lancaster saw its highest single-day increase since the health emergency began, officials said.
It could be that backlogged tests were confirmed positive, said Darren Player, Lancaster County Emergency Management Director. Test results come back from the DHEC lab, as well as private labs, Player said.
Player said the increase likely means there has been community spread of the virus in Lancaster County. He urged the public to continue following guidelines for safety, health and hygiene -- staying at home unless at work or other essential functions, and following social distancing guidelines.
Health officials reported 274 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus across the state.
Five more people have died from the virus, according to DHEC.
Three people who died were middle-aged with underlying health conditions and lived in Berkley, Florence and Greenville counties. Two older people from Greenville County who had other health problems also died.
South Carolina now has more than 3,065 confirmed cases and 72 deaths linked to coronavirus, reports DHEC.
As of Thursday, DHEC has conducted more than 9,489 tests for COVID-19 in the public health laboratory, leading to 1,125 positive tests and 8,364 negative results. In total, the health department has conducted 28,183 tests in South Carolina.
Positive cases by zip code, DHEC reported as of Friday:
York County:
- 29704 - 1
- 29708 - 14
- 29710 - 22
- 29715 - 23
- 29717 - 1
- 29730 - 22
- 29732 - 34
- 29745 - 6
- Unknown - 2
Chester County:
- 29014 - 1
- 29055 - 3
- 29706 - 8
- 29712 - 1
- 29714 - 4
Lancaster County:
- 29058 - 3
- 29067 - 2
- 29707 - 16
- 29720 - 40
DHEC has also estimated the number of potential cases in each county based on reported cases. Due to testing constraints, more people may be positive for coronavirus than what is being reported to the health department.
Estimated cases are about seven times higher than those reported by health officials.
York County could have up to 893 coronavirus cases, reports DHEC.
In Lancaster, officials estimate a total of 436 potential cases and in Chester County that total is 121 cases.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 4:58 PM.
