Chester County adds most new cases since start of coronavirus pandemic, report says
Chester County reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in one day since the pandemic started in March, South Carolina health officials announced Sunday.
Five cases were confirmed Sunday, and two on Saturday, bringing the county’s total to 51, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
That number is expected to increase as Chester will open its first free COVID-19 testing site next week, Chester County Supervisor Shane Stuart told The Herald last week. Stuart said the five cases also could be a result of more testing around the state.
Chester County Deputy Emergency Management Director Ed Darby said his office has concerns that since restrictions on gatherings were eased and businesses reopened, too many people are not being cautious and following CDC guidelines.
Stuart has been a proponent of people wearing masks in public, adhering to social distancing and avoiding unnecessary contact with others until the pandemic eases. Stuart stressed Sunday that Chester officials remain concerned about case count rising and ask residents to continue to put the safety of themselves, their families and the community first.
DHEC also identified 209 new cases of COVID-19 across the state Sunday, for a total of 10,096 cases in all 46 counties.
York County reported 11 cases over the weekend, bringing its total to 340 cases, according to DHEC. Lancaster County reported one new case over the weekend, according to DHEC. The county now has had 121 cases since the pandemic started, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus in York County
Western York County opened its first free coronavirus testing site Friday at Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church and 342 tests were administered, said Seth Duncan, York city manager.
People who test positive will likely be notified within one to three days of the test, and people with negative results will be notified within one to seven days, Duncan said.
In addition to the cases, DHEC announced Saturday that an elderly individual from York County died as a result of coronavirus. As of Sunday, DHEC has reported six coronavirus-related deaths in York County.
However, York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said her office has confirmed eight residents died after testing positive for COVID-19. All eight residents who died from complications after testing positive for COVID-19 were older and had other health ailments, Gast said.
Jeff Vissage, an officer with the S.C. Department of Natural resources in York County whose division patrols Lake Wylie, told The Herald that there hasn’t been much traffic on the lake this weekend, despite it being a spring holiday weekend.
“It’s just been like a normal weekend,” Vissage said. “Normally there’s a lot more traffic. You can tell it’s a holiday weekend. But this weekend it just felt like a normal, summertime weekend.”
Coronavirus-related deaths
Hospitals across the state are at about 65% capacity. Sunday, DHEC officials said, of the 6,560 beds currently used across the state, 461 beds are occupied by patients with known or suspected cases of the virus.
In addition to the cases, DHEC also announced that 10 more individuals have died across the state. Based on the agency’s count, there now have been 435 coronavirus-related deaths in South Carolina.
Lancaster County has reported five coronavirus-related deaths, and Chester County has not reported any deaths, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 testing
As of Sunday, labs across the state have completed more than 168,908 tests, and in all about 6% of tests have come back positive. Last week, 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.
Western York County’s free coronavirus testing site at Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church will be open every Friday for the next four weeks, Duncan said. Testing is available at the church at 302 California Street in York from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. No appointment or referral is needed, Duncan said.
Chester County will opens its free coronavirus testing site for residents this week, 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.
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.
Case projections
This week, DHEC officials have anticipated more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases. Based on DHEC projections, the weekly number of cases will remain around 1,000 by the beginning of June and officials expect a total of 11,890 cases reported in the state by that time.
DHEC calculated that there are up to 2,089 unidentified cases in York County based on projections released Sunday. The agency estimated Lancaster County has as many as 743 unidentified cases, and Chester County has up to 313 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.
Recapping coronavirus news this past week
This past week, book returns in York County libraries opened, the first step of the libraries’ coordinated, three-phased reopening plan. The week before, Lancaster County opened their libraries with social distancing precautions in place.
Gov. McMaster announced Wednesday that youth sports can return around the state come the end of the month, meaning that summer baseball games in Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Lancaster, the Columbia area, Horry County and other areas could be the first live sporting events after months of quarantining and social distancing. This statewide league is ready to play.
The baseball program at Furman was cut this week amid the coronavirus. The decision left its players — including some from Fort Mill and Rock Hill — having to start over.
Longtime downtown York restaurant Coal Yard Restaurant and Lounge closed this week for good, citing in a Facebook post that “while the world slowly returns to ‘normal’, we’ve decided to take this opportunity to move on.” The current ownership had operated the restaurant and lounge downtown for over a decade.
A petition filled with signatures from parents and students protesting Lancaster County’s graduation plans garnered attention this past week.
“While South Carolina’s high unemployment rate is shocking compared to the record lows we recently enjoyed, I am sure that this news isn’t a surprise to anyone,” said Dan Ellzey, executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. The state unemployment rate for April is a record 12.1%, per data released from the department.
Coronavirus cases by ZIP code
As of Saturday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
- 29704 - 4
- 29708 - 38
- 29710 - 45
- 29715 - 44
- 29717 - 2
- 29730 - 69
- 29732 - 109
- 29745 - 20
Lancaster County
- 29058 - 5
- 29067 - 12
- 29707 - 28
- 29720 - 85
Chester County
- 29014 - 3
- 29055 - 15
- 29706 - 19
- 29712 - 2
- 29714 - 8
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 4:34 PM.
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