More than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in S.C.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WBTV) - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is reporting more than 8,000 newly-confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday.

South Carolina reported 8,440 confirmed new cases on Jan. 19. Additionally, there are 2,304 newly-listed probable cases..

Since the pandemic started, South Carolina has had 976,704 confirmed and 260,028 probable positive cases of the virus.

There were 9 more confirmed deaths that have been reported, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in South Carolina to 12,966.

A total of 14,341,213 COVID-19 tests have been performed statewide. Of the 35,060 new test results reported Wednesday, the percent-positive was 33.4 percent.

On New Year’s Day 2022, South Carolina officially surpassed the one million mark for total combined, confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, a milestone reached as the state is in the middle of an unprecedented wave of new cases spurred by the omicron variant.

SCDHEC COVID-19 Dashboard: Click here for the latest information and statistics on the coronavirus pandemic and frequently asked questions in S.C.

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Officials with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced that they were changing the way the percent positive is calculated for COVID-19 cases.

Previously, state health officials produced the percent positive by dividing the number of people with positive results by the number of people who had taken tests overall which included positive and negative results.

This new method is calculated by dividing all positive COVID-19 tests by the total number of COVID-19 tests, positive and negative, and then multiplying the result by 100 to get a percent.

With this new method taking place, the public will see a big drop in the number representing percent positive. However, DHEC officials stress that it does not mean that the level of spread in the community has decreased.

“Percent positive will appear to be lower only because it is calculated differently,” state health officials said on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a press release, not only will DHEC use this new method going forward, but it will go back and recalculate the percent positive for the entire time COVID-19 has been tracked in South Carolina.

“As part of DHEC’s continuous improvement efforts to enhance the quality of information DHEC provides, daily COVID-19 data will be provided with a 24-hour delay beginning November 27, 2020. This delay will allow for more robust analysis of data before it’s publicly reported. DHEC’s epidemiologists and data analysts will have greater time to review the vast amounts of data and information reported to the agency each day and will have additional time for data validation, verification of death reports, and improvements in processing large data files submitted from reporting partners. This also will allow DHEC’s data and medical experts more time to identify and investigate any data inconsistencies or abnormalities. This transition in no way affects the agency’s efforts to protect public health and limit disease spread. Case investigators will continue to attempt contact with all positive cases within 24 hours of our notification of their positive result.”

South Carolina reports both confirmed and probable cases and deaths across the state. DHEC defines the difference between these statistics as:

• A confirmed case is an individual who had a confirmatory viral test performed by way of a throat or nose swab and that specimen tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19. A positive viral test, also called a PCR test or molecular test, alone is enough to classify a confirmed case.
• A probable case is an individual who has not had a confirmatory viral test performed but has epidemiologic evidence and clinical evidence of infection. A positive antibody result no longer classifies an individual as a probable case. A positive antibody result will now be categorized as a suspect case.
• A confirmed death is someone whose death is related to COVID-19 and who tested positive with a confirmatory viral test for COVID-19.
• A probable death is an individual whose death certificate lists COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death but did not undergo confirmatory viral testing.

This webpage provides information about probable cases and deaths and will be updated to reflect the most current CDC recommendations for reporting this new information.

South Carolina is currently not reporting accurate numbers for hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the state.

Since Wednesday, July 22, 2021, DHEC says hospitals have “actively been making a transition to a new federal reporting system for providing bed occupancy and other important information. DHEC is monitoring their efforts to transition to the new system.”

People should stay home and get tested for the coronavirus if they have any of the following symptoms:

• fever
• shortness of breath
• headaches
• sore throat
• loss of smell
• vomiting, nausea and/or diarrhea

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