Coronavirus latest: York County cases increase by 16, Chester adds 3
After a record-breaking week, coronavirus cases in York County continue to climb with 16 new cases confirmed Monday, South Carolina health officials announced.
For seven consecutive days, at least 20 new cases had been reported daily in the county — a trend that concerned local health officials. Now, there have been 651 cases confirmed in the county since the pandemic started, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
DHEC identified 582 new cases of COVID-19 across the state Monday, pushing the overall total of infections to 19,783.
Lancaster County added two new cases Monday, for a total of 248, according to DHEC. Chester County reported three new cases and now has had 123 confirmed cases, DHEC said.
With coronavirus cases in the state and York County reaching record highs last week and over the weekend, the public must consider acting to protect their own safety, said York County Council member William “Bump” Roddey.
Over the weekend, York County added 34 new cases on Saturday, which marked the highest daily number of cases reported to date.
“These numbers over the weekend were off the charts,” Roddey said. “If people have skepticism that COVID-19 is real, I would hope they would get over that skepticism because it appears that COVID-19 is more rampant than ever.”
Roddey said although South Carolina officials have reopened certain businesses and parts of the economy, the individuals still have the final say on whether it is safe to be out in public.
“People have to take it upon themselves to protect their health,” Roddey said.
Since April 20, Gov. Henry McMaster has lifted restrictions initially put on businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus. He’s said he has no plans to close businesses again or require South Carolinians to wear masks, adding that it’s on the people to practice social distancing.
Roddey said while he has been told by county administrators that reopening businesses is a state decision, York County officials can also make suggestions that protect the safety of the public.
“We can make suggestions to the public so that they can get over that skepticism about the pandemic and make important decisions about their health and the health of the public they interact with,” Roddey said.
More testing
As part of DHEC’s efforts to increase testing across the state, the agency has set up mobile testing sites and two will be open in Rock Hill this week. DHEC set a goal of testing about 2% of the state’s population in June, a goal they met in May.
According to DHEC’s website, a free coronavirus testing site will be open Tuesday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rock Hill from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The church is at 1989 Reservation Road.
And on Thursday, a free testing site will be open at First Calvary Baptist Church from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. The church is at 228 Lucky Lane in Rock Hill, according to DHEC.
On Sunday, 6,329 tests were conducted statewide, with 9.2% having positive results, DHEC reported.
Since March, labs across the state have completed 293,754 tests. But DHEC officials estimate that about 86% of COVID-19 patients in the state have not been tested or identified, which means about 138,400 people in South Carolina have likely had the virus.
The agency calculated that there are up to 3,999 unidentified cases in York County based on projections released Monday. The agency estimated Lancaster County has as many as 1,523 unidentified cases, and Chester County has up to 756 unidentified cases.
COVID-19 deaths
With the addition of two new deaths related to the virus reported Monday, the state’s death toll is now at 602.
In early June, Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight Deese announced another resident died as a result of the virus. Her office now has confirmed seven coronavirus-related deaths in the county.
DHEC has confirmed six deaths in Lancaster County. The agency has confirmed 10 coronavirus-related deaths in York County and one in Chester County.
Hospitals across the state are at about 66% of capacity. Of the 6,947 beds in use across the state on Monday, DHEC officials said, 536 were occupied by coronavirus patients or those who are suspected of having COVID-19.
Cases by ZIP code
As of Sunday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
- 29704 - 7
- 29708 - 63
- 29710 - 90
- 29715 - 86
- 29717 - 5
- 29730 - 151
- 29732 - 171
- 29745 - 57
Lancaster County
- 29058 - 9
- 29067 - 20
- 29707 - 50
- 29720 - 186
Chester County
- 29014 - 13
- 29055 - 42
- 29706 - 43
- 29712 - 5
- 29714 - 14
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 5:13 PM.
