COVID-19 in the Carolinas: SC reports record number of new cases, hospitalizations

Health officials in South Carolina reported Saturday a single-day record of coronavirus cases in the state with more than 1,800 new cases as well as a record number of hospitalizations.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed 1,836 new confirmed cases The previous record high was 1,741 reported on Tuesday.

Officials also announced 19 additional confirmed deaths due to the virus.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 43,260 and confirmed deaths to 806.

In addition, SCDHEC reported a record number of hospitalizations with 1,190 people hospitalized for coronvirus across the state. The last highest number of hospitalizations was reported on Wednesday with 1,160 people hospitalized.

As of Saturday morning, there are 3,058 inpatient hospital beds available and 7,648 beds in use.

As of Friday, a total of 463,201 tests have been conducted in the South Carolina. The total number of people tested Friday statewide was 9,338 (not including antibody tests) and the percent positive was 19.7%.

NC surpasses one million virus tests

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the state has now tested more than one million people for coronavirus.

Health officials reported Saturday North Carolina has tested 1,018,296 people across the state for the virus.

Saturday also marked the 11th straight day where North Carolina recorded more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases. In the last 24 hours, the state reported 1,413 new cases, bring the total number of cases to 71,654.

>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

The state continues to have enough capacity to care for patients, officials said.

Breakdown of COVID-19 trends:

• People showing up to emergency room with COVID-19 symptoms: Increasing (early warning indicator)
• New cases: Increasing and accelerating
• Percentage of positive tests: Remains elevated (sitting at 8%-10% but leaders want it closer to 5%)
• Hospitalizations: Level

Cohen stressed Thursday the importance of face coverings and avoiding large gatherings going into the holiday weekend. She said the state isn’t where she wanted it to be for Fourth of July, but that we can work together to see positive change.

“The best way to honor our country is to honor each other,” she said in regards to people taking personal responsibility for following health guidelines.

What about closer to home?

As of Saturday morning, 12,576 Mecklenburg County residents have tested positive for COVID-19. There have been 154 related deaths.

Each Tuesday, Mecklenburg County releases detailed information regarding coronavirus in the county. Data from Tuesday, June 30, 2020 are presented below.

As of June 30, 2020, 10,367 cases of and 151 deaths due to COVID-19 among county residents were reported to Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH).

MCPH provides these routine updates about reported cases of COVID-19 to help our community better understand how this pandemic is developing in our county. These results only reflect laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 among county residents. Many individuals infected by COVID-19 have not been tested because they are asymptomatic. As such, these results are very fluid and only represent a fraction of the true burden of COVID-19 in our community.

>> We’ll bring you LIVE updates on Channel 9 Eyewitness News. Get extended coverage on the free WSOC Now app on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV.

Daily case counts provided by MCPH may differ from state and federal counts due to delays in reporting to the various entities. MCPH updates case counts after an initial case review and, where possible, a patient interview is conducted, which includes confirming county residency. Cases reported after 5 p.m. are counted in the following day’s case count.

Highlights about the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Mecklenburg County as of June 30, 2020 include:

• About 3 in 4 reported cases were adults ages 20 to 59 years old.
• More than a third of reported cases are Hispanic – most of whom are younger adults. The high number of reported cases among young Hispanics over the last several weeks remains a significant concern. As previously noted, some factors influencing this trend include:
• Targeted testing occurring in neighborhoods with lower access to care, some of which have larger Hispanic populations;
• Higher proportions of Hispanics working in essential jobs that make social distancing difficult;
• Significant household spread among large families; and
• Pre-existing disparities in other social and economic determinants of health, like poverty.
• About 1 in 15 reported cases were hospitalized due to their COVID-19 infection. While everyone is at risk for severe COVID-19 complications, reported cases who were older adults (≥ 60 years) were more likely to be hospitalized compared to younger individuals.
• More than half of cases have met CDC criteria to be released from isolation.
• During the past week, an average of 144 individuals with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized at acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County. This represents an increase over the last 14-days. These data are based on daily census counts from acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County reporting to MCPH.
• During the past week, an average of 11.2 percent of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19. During the last 14 days, there was a slight decline followed by a slight increase in percent positive. Overall, this represents a stable trend over the last 14-days. These data only include tests conducted by Atrium Health, Novant Health, and CVS Health. Reporting of negative results to MCPH is not required or covered by communicable disease reporting laws. MCPH will include results from other providers and laboratories as accurate, consistent and timely reporting mechanisms are established.
• One hundred-fifty-one deaths due to COVID-19 occurred among reported cases.
• Almost all deaths were among older adults (≥ 60 years), 18 deaths were adults ages 40 to 59.
• All deaths, except two, occurred among adults with underlying chronic illnesses.
• More than half were non-Hispanic Whites. The disparity in COVID-19 deaths among non-Hispanic Whites is related to differences in race/ethnicity of residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities actively experiencing an outbreak.
• Nearly 2 out of 3 deaths were connected to active outbreaks at long-term care (LTC) facilities.
• Based on publicly available mobility tracking data, social distancing slightly increased then slightly decreased in Mecklenburg County over the last 14 days. Overall, this represents a fairly stable trend over the last 14 days.

>> The latest data, maps and charts on local COVID-19 are available here on MeckNC.gov.

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[CORONAVIRUS IN THE CAROLINAS; HERE’S HOW TO STAY INFORMED]

Gaston County leaders continue to be concerned with the rise in COVID-19 cases in the county, and are re-emphasizing the need Thursday for residents to take this public health crisis seriously and practice the 3 Ws – Wear, Wait and Wash.

Gaston County’s total active case count reached an all-time high on Tuesday, and daily positive totals are five and six times higher than what the County experienced just six weeks ago. In addition, the County’s percentage positive rate has more than tripled – from just over 5% in mid-May to more than 17% this week.

Are people recovering?

As of Monday (this data is released only on Mondays), the state was reporting 45,538 patients were presumed to have recovered. That’s out of the 71,654 cases reported Saturday across the state.

In Mecklenburg County, more than half of the 12,576 COVID-19 cases have been released from isolation.

It takes about 28 days for people who have been hospitalized because of COVID-19 to recover from the virus, according to the NCDHHS.

Pandemic makes stay-at-home explosions popular this July 4th

It’s a stay-at-home 4th of July for many people in South Carolina this year after municipalities have cancelled or restricted fireworks shows due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Shoppers wearing masks at a fireworks store in Columbia planned Friday to celebrate with family and avoid crowded beaches.

>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

This holiday weekend frightens public health officials who are already dealing with a spike of newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases that started several days after Memorial Day.

Dozens of local governments have passed mask requirements since Gov. Henry McMaster refused to impose this health measure statewide.

In North Carolina, NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen stressed the importance of face coverings and avoiding large gatherings going into the holiday weekend. She said the state isn’t where she wanted it to be for Fourth of July, but that we can work together to see positive change.

“The best way to honor our country is to honor each other,” she said in regards to people taking personal responsibility for following health guidelines.

On Friday, North Carolina recorded more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases, making it the state’s highest single-day increase. It was also the 10th straight day the state has seen more than 1,000 cases.

Hospitalizations also hit a new record. There are 951 people in the hospital.

South Carolina reported more than 1,500 new cases and 10 deaths on Friday as well as more than 1,100 people in the hospital.

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