FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 434 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 11 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 15,228 and those who have died to 568.

Five of the deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Fairfield (2), Florence (1), Lee (1), and Williamsburg (1) counties, and six of the deaths occurred in individuals from Berkeley (1), Greenville (2), Greenwood (1), Horry (1), and Lee (1) counties.

The number of new cases by county are listed below.

Abbeville (2), Aiken (1), Anderson (9), Beaufort (20), Berkeley (9), Calhoun (1), Charleston (28), Chesterfield (5), Cherokee (3), Clarendon (3), Colleton (5), Darlington (3), Dorchester (4), Fairfield (4), Florence (2), Georgetown (6), Greenville (47), Greenwood (15), Hampton (1), Horry (47), Jasper (2), Kershaw (7), Lancaster (7), Laurens (4), Lee (2), Lexington (37), Newberry (5), Orangeburg (11), Pickens (5), Richland (80), Spartanburg (13), Sumter (21), Williamsburg (1), York (24) 

DHEC and Public Health Organizations Issue Joint Message on Masks, Social Distancing Earlier today, DHEC, the S.C. Hospital Association (SCHA), S.C. Medical Association (SCMA) and S.C. Office of Rural Health (SCORH) issued a joint statement on the continued need for all South Carolinians to practice social distancing and proper use of face asks to save lives in South Carolina. 

There is rapidly growing medical evidence that the use of face masks along with social distancing can greatly reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in public spaces and places where people at higher risk of severe illness and death from this virus are likely to be present. Read the full statement at scdhec.gov.

Updated Data: Demographics, Chronic Conditions and Impacted Facilities List Today’s website information includes updated demographic data, a current list of nursing homes impacted by COVID-19, chronic conditions of individuals who have tested positive, and more. In addition to DHEC’s daily updates, this information is compiled and updated twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Testing in South Carolina As of yesterday, a total of 256,710 tests have been conducted in the state (by both DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory and private labs). DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week. The Public Health Laboratory’s current timeframe for providing results to health care providers is 24-48 hours.

Percent Positive Test Trends among Reported COVID-19 Cases The total number of individuals tested yesterday statewide was 2,956 and the percent positive was 14.7%. When the percent positive is low, it may indicate that more widespread testing is being performed and the percent positive may more accurately reflect how much disease is present in the community.

More than 100 Mobile Testing Clinics Scheduled Statewide As part of our ongoing efforts to increase testing in underserved and rural communities across the state, DHEC is working with community partners to set up mobile testing clinics that bring testing to these communities. Currently, there are 108 mobile testing events scheduled through July 2 with new testing events added regularly. Find a mobile testing clinic event near you at scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics.

Residents can also get tested at one of 169 permanent COVID-19 testing facilities across the state. Visit scdhec.gov/covid19testing for more information.

Hospital Bed Occupancy As of this morning, 2,974 inpatient hospital beds are available and 7,425 are in use, which is a 71.40% statewide hospital bed utilization rate. Of the 7,425 inpatient beds currently used, 541 are occupied by patients who have either tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19.

How South Carolinians Can Stop the Spread Evidence is increasing about the high rates of infection in people who do not have symptoms and don’t know they are infectious. This places everyone at risk of getting the virus or unknowingly transmitting it to someone else. Steps we can take to protect ourselves and others include:

• Practicing social distancing
• Wearing a mask in public
• Avoiding group gatherings
• Regularly washing your hands
• Staying home if sick

For the latest information related to COVID-19 visit scdhec.gov/COVID-19. Visit scdmh.net for stress, anxiety and mental health resources from the S.C. Department of Mental Health.

*As new information is provided to the department, some changes in cases may occur. Cases are reported based on the person’s county of residence, as it is provided to the department. DHEC’s COVID-19 map will adjust to reflect any reclassified cases.

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