York County adds 10 more coronavirus cases, total climbs to 317, SC health officials say
Ten more cases of coronavirus were reported in York County Wednesday, and Chester County added one new case, South Carolina health officials announced.
York County now has had 317 COVID-19 cases confirmed since the pandemic started, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Chester County has had 41 cases reported, and Lancaster County, which reported zero new cases for the third consecutive day, has had 108 cases, according to DHEC.
The agency also identified 125 new cases of COVID-19 across the state Wednesday, for a total of 9,175 cases in all 46 counties.
Top emergency officials in York, Chester and Lancaster counties urged people to continue social distancing, wearing masks even as most of the businesses in the state start to reopen.
“As more and more things open up in our state, we still want people to use the same measures that have helped so far,” said Chuck Haynes, York County Emergency Management Director. “We don’t want to see any kind of rebound from the gains that have been made from safe social distancing and other measures that have helped slow the disease.”
Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said in a meeting Tuesday that the city has to get back to business and can do so in a safe and healthy manner for the public.
“We have got to get people back to work,” Gettys said Tuesday.
Monday, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster also announced in a press conference he is allowing tourist attractions, which includes museums, aquariums, planetariums, mini-golf and go-kart racing, along with amusement parks to reopen Friday. His order lifted restrictions on arcades, indoor children’s play areas, bingo halls and venues operated by social clubs.
“If you do what your mama taught you way back then — be careful with strangers, and cover your cough and your sneezes, and wash your hands, we’ll be in good shape,” McMaster said at the conference. “Today in this context, we call it social distancing.”
Coronavirus-related deaths
Hospitals across the state are at about 70% capacity. Wednesday, DHEC officials said, of the 7,209 beds currently used across the state, 414 beds are occupied by patients with known or suspected cases of the virus.
In addition to the cases, DHEC also announced that eight more individuals have died across the state. Based on the agency’s count, there now have been 407 coronavirus-related deaths in South Carolina.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said her office has confirmed eight residents died after testing positive for COVID-19. As of Wednesday, DHEC had reported five coronavirus-related deaths in York County.
Lancaster County has reported five coronavirus-related deaths, and Chester County has not reported any deaths, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 testing
As of Wednesday, labs across the state have completed more than 138,238 tests, and in all about 7% of tests have come back positive. Friday, DHEC projected that about 84% of those diagnosed with the virus have recovered.
DHEC is working to nearly double the amount of statewide testing in May, by testing 2% of the state’s population, or 110,000 people, in each of the next two months, agency officials said. So far, about 1.7% of the population has been tested.
Chester County will offer its first free coronavirus testing site for residents, officials said. Testing will be done at the Back Lot at 139 Cadz Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 27 and 29, and again on June 3 and 5, according to a statement from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Western York County will open its first on-site coronavirus testing site Friday at Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church, officials said.
Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill also does COVID-19 testing. Affinity Health Care in Rock Hill offers drive-through testing. North Central Family Medical Center in Rock Hill tests symptomatic patients and is planning to offer drive-through testing by appointment.
Six employees at MacLean Power Systems, a York County manufacturing plant, have tested positive for coronavirus, company officials said.
“All co-workers who have been in direct contact with these employees have been notified and requested to stay in self-quarantine for the next 14 days,” an official with the company said in a statement.
Case projections
This week, DHEC officials have anticipated about 1,000 new coronavirus cases. Based on DHEC projections, the weekly number of cases will likely drop to about 900 by the end of May and officials expect a total of 10,493 cases reported in the state by that time.
DHEC calculated that there are up to 1,947 unidentified cases in York County based on projections released Wednesday. The agency estimated Lancaster County has as many as 663 unidentified cases, and Chester County has up to 252 unidentified cases.
According to its website, DHEC calculates the projected cases based on evidence that for every known case, there could be up to nine unidentified people with the virus.
Coronavirus cases by ZIP code
As of Tuesday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
- 29704 - 2
- 29708 - 34
- 29710 - 42
- 29715 - 41
- 29717 - 2
- 29730 - 65
- 29732 - 105
- 29745 - 19
Lancaster County
- 29058 - 4
- 29067 - 12
- 29707 - 28
- 29720 - 73
Chester County
- 29014 - 2
- 29055 - 7
- 29706 - 19
- 29712 - 1
- 29714 - 7
