Coronavirus latest: 10 more positive in York County and 5 in Lancaster on June 1
York County added 10 new cases of coronavirus Monday, and Lancaster County added five, South Carolina health officials announced.
Now, York County has had 417 confirmed cases since the pandemic started, and Lancaster County has had 140 cases, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Chester County, which reported its first coronavirus-related death over the weekend, added three new cases, for a total of 83 cases in the county, according to DHEC.
In addition to the county-level cases, DHEC identified 297 new cases of COVID-19 across the state Monday. There has now been a total of 12,148 cases reported in South Carolina.
York and Chester counties opened free coronavirus testing sites last week, and since, the two counties have reported significant increases in the number of positive cases, officials said. Over the weekend, York County added a total of 21 cases and Chester County added 18, according to DHEC.
York County Emergency Management Director Chuck Haynes said officials believe the jump in cases over the weekend and through Monday is related to the increase in testing of York County residents. The site has been open for the last two Fridays in York and as a result, several hundred more people have been tested, Haynes said.
The free testing site will be open this upcoming Friday and again on June 12.
“We have asked DHEC officials about our increase, and experts have told us that our high numbers are likely from the increased testing of our people here in York County,” Haynes said. “It stands to reason that the more people are tested, the more positive cases we will have.”
Haynes said he and other top York County officials continue to urge the public to avoid unnecessary contacts outside of home, practice social distancing, and wear a mask when in public.
Coronavirus-related deaths
DHEC announced that six other individuals across the state have died as a result of the virus. Based on DHEC’s county, there now have been 500 coronavirus-related deaths in South Carolina.
On Friday, Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight Deese confirmed another resident had died as a result of the coronavirus. Now, the county has had six coronavirus-related deaths, according to Deese. DHEC has reported five deaths in the county.
Both DHEC and York County Coroner Sabrina Gast have confirmed that eight residents in the county have 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.
Testing
As of Monday, labs across the state have completed more than 210,826 tests, and in all, about 6% of tests have come back positive.
Chester County will continue its free testing this week. The site, which is being administered by MUSC, is located at the Back Lot at 139 Cadz Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 3 and 5, officials said. No appointment is required and people will receive test results within 72 hours, Chester City Council member Angela Douglas said.
Western York County’s free coronavirus testing site, located at Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church, will be open this Friday and June 12, York City Manager Seth 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.
Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill also does COVID-19 testing. Affinity Health Care in Rock Hill offers drive-thru testing. North Central Family Medical Center in Rock Hill tests symptomatic patients and is planning to offer drive-thru testing by appointment.
Case projections
DHEC officials have anticipated about 1,500 new coronavirus cases reported across the state this week. Based on projections, the weekly number of cases will climb to about 1,700 in the middle of June, and officials expect a total of 16,913 cases to be reported in the state by that time.
DHEC officials have estimated that as many as 86% of people who have contracted COVID-19 have not been tested or diagnosed, and DHEC estimated that 84,700 people have had the virus across the state.
The agency calculated that there are up to 2,500 unidentified cases in York County based on projections released Monday. The agency estimated Lancaster County has as many as 829 unidentified cases, and Chester County has up to 491 unidentified cases.
Hospitals across the state are at about 64% capacity. Monday, DHEC officials said, of the 6,610 beds currently used across the state, 450 beds are occupied by coronavirus patients or those who are suspected of having it.
Coronavirus cases by ZIP code
As of Sunday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
- 29704 - 4
- 29708 - 45
- 29710 - 51
- 29715 - 49
- 29717 - 3
- 29730 - 87
- 29732 - 127
- 29745 - 27
Lancaster County
- 29058 - 5
- 29067 - 15
- 29707 - 31
- 29720 - 96
Chester County
- 29014 - 8
- 29055 - 31
- 29706 - 24
- 29712 - 4
- 29714 - 9
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 5:34 PM.
