Coronavirus latest: In 6 days, Chester County has reported 3 virus-related deaths
Two more residents in Chester and Lancaster counties died after contracting the novel coronavirus, South Carolina health officials announced Thursday.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 69 more people were reported dead statewide as a result of COVID-19, marking the most deaths reported in a single day.
Both individuals who died in Chester and Lancaster were elderly, the agency said. DHEC did not release any more information on the deaths.
Based on DHEC’s count, Lancaster County has had 15 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started. In June, the county reported eight coronavirus-related deaths. From the beginning of March to the end of May, Lancaster County had a total of five deaths related to the virus.
Within the last six days, Chester County has reported three coronavirus-related deaths. The county has had a total of five deaths since the pandemic started, according to DHEC.
An elderly resident and a child died as a result of the virus over the weekend, according to DHEC. The Chester County child was the first child in the state to die of COVID-19, according to DHEC.
Coronavirus cases
York County added 75 new coronavirus cases, pushing its total number of cases to 2,134, according to DHEC. In four of the last seven days, York County has added more than 70 cases a day. In April and May, the county regularly added cases in the single digits.
Across the state, DHEC identified 1,842 new cases Thursday, bringing the state’s overall total infections to 63,880.
Lancaster County added 25 cases and now has had a total of 690, according to DHEC. Agency officials have also reported 17 probable cases in the county. Probable cases are those in which someone who has not received lab test results has coronavirus symptoms or a positive antibody test, according to DHEC’s definition.
Cases in Chester County continued to climb Thursday. Sixteen new cases were added, for a total of 320 since the pandemic started, according to DHEC.
Testing and hospitalizations
The percentage of tests that come back positive — another indicator of the coronavirus’ spread — has been rising over the last month, according to DHEC officials.
On Wednesday, 8,643 tests were conducted statewide, with 21% having positive results, DHEC reported. In May, at its lowest point, the percentage of positive tests fell between 2% and 4% on average.
Since March, labs across the state have completed 587,567 tests.
Hospitals across the state are at about 73% of capacity. Of the 7,935 beds in use across the state on Thursday, DHEC officials said 1,578 were occupied by coronavirus patients or those who are suspected of having COVID-19.
South Carolina first surpassed 1,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients on June 29. Hospitals have had more than 1,000 coronavirus patients every day since.
Hospitals in York County are at 79% capacity, with 244 of the 288 beds currently in use, according to DHEC. And Lancaster County hospitals are at about 47% capacity, with 70 of 149 beds currently in use.
Monday, DHEC projected that about 92% of those diagnosed with the virus in the state have recovered.
Cases by ZIP code
As of Wednesday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
▪ 29704 - 28
▪ 29708 - 234
▪ 29710 - 262
▪ 29715 - 272
▪ 29717 - 9
▪ 29730 - 504
▪ 29732 - 508
▪ 29745 - 243
Lancaster County
▪ 29058 - 24
▪ 29067 - 64
▪ 29707 - 148
▪ 29720 - 480
Chester County
▪ 29014 - 22
▪ 29055 - 54
▪ 29706 - 171
▪ 29712 - 18
▪ 29714 - 36
