Coronavirus latest: Chester adds highest number of cases, 2 die in York and Lancaster
Chester County has added its highest increase in daily novel coronavirus cases reported to date during the pandemic, South Carolina health officials announced Wednesday.
The county reported 19 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, for a total of 395 cases, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control. The previous high was 16 on July 16, according to official state numbers.
Chester County Supervisor Shane Stuart said top officials have serious concerns about the spike in cases reported Wednesday.
Chester County has around 32,000 residents. The high number of daily cases put Wednesday’s rate of infection higher than nearby York and Lancaster counties, which have far higher populations.
Stuart has been a longtime advocate for people wearing masks in public places.
Chester County has made it mandatory for all employees in county building to wear a face covering. However, the county council has not considered a countywide mask mandate as other counties and municipalities have.
Also, DHEC officials announced Wednesday that two more elderly residents have died in Lancaster and York counties after contracting the virus.
The Lancaster County resident died July 17 and York County resident died Friday, according to DHEC. Based on the agency’s count, there have been 16 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths and three probable deaths in Lancaster County.
A probable death involves a person whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death or a contributing factor, but has not received a lab test, DHEC officials said.
Based on DHEC’s count, there have been 17 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in York County. In the last seven days, health officials have reported four deaths in the county.
DHEC identified 1,654 new cases Wednesday statewide, bringing the total reported infections to 74,761. Officials also reported an additional 39 South Carolinians have died as a result of the virus, including the residents from York and Lancaster counties. The state’s death toll is now 1,242.
DHEC also announced that 55 more people in York County have tested positive for the virus. The county now has 2,561 cases, according to DHEC.
Lancaster County added 28 new coronavirus cases, which is one of its highest case totals reported in recent days, according to DHEC. The record number of cases reported in the county is 29, which was set on June 30.
The county has had a total of 806 confirmed cases, 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 Tuesday, 8,574 tests were conducted statewide, with about 19% having positive results, DHEC reported. In May, at its lowest point, the percentage of positive tests ranged from 2% to 4% on average.
Since March, labs across the state have completed 659,541 tests.
Free testing will be available at Edinport Elementary School in Rock Hill from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. S.C. Rep. Gary Simrill and S.C. Sen. Wes Climer organized the drive-up site in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina.
South Carolina has seen a record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients nearly every day in July. Of the 9,561 beds in use across the state on Wednesday, 1,607 were occupied by coronavirus patients or those who are suspected of having COVID-19.
In all, hospitals across the state are at about 87% capacity, according to DHEC.
Cases by ZIP code
As of Tuesday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
▪ 29704 - 35
▪ 29708 - 282
▪ 29710 - 308
▪ 29715 - 312
▪ 29717 - 10
▪ 29730 - 605
▪ 29732 - 631
▪ 29745 - 277
Lancaster County
▪ 29058 - 30
▪ 29067 - 78
▪ 29707 - 173
▪ 29720 - 560
Chester County
▪ 29014 - 28
▪ 29055 - 64
▪ 29706 - 221
▪ 29712 - 19
▪ 29714 - 41
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 5:31 PM.
