The number of beds in intensive care units is decreasing in Lowcountry as coronavirus cases continue to increase, records show.
Nationally, ICU beds have an occupancy rate of 79%, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The rate is 85% in South Carolina and 84% in hospitals in the Charleston area.
Bed occupancy in the ICU at Medical University of South Carolina is 95%, while Mount Pleasant Hospital is 89% and Bon Secours-St. The Francis Xavier Hospital has 87%. These percentages include patients with COVID-19, as well as other diseases.
Meanwhile, South Carolina has performed more than 4.5 million coronavirus tests since the virus was first detected on American soil, announcing the milestone exactly a year after the first American case was reported.
In the 12 months since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a man returning from a visit to Wuhan, China, had become ill, the virus had spread across the country and killed more than 400,000 Americans.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control of SC confirmed its first cases in March and initially had difficulty meeting the demand for tests, as the country was short of supplies.
But since then, the state has created test sites in hospitals, shopping malls and schools. DHEC reported 13,734 new test results on Thursday, bringing the state total to 4,508,762 tests.
State figures
New cases reported: 3,363, which is 2,028 percent higher than the 158 registered on March 31, the day Governor Henry McMaster ordered the closing of non-essential deals.
Total cases in SC: 366,149, plus 38,343 probable cases
New deaths reported: 39
Total deaths in SC: 5,768 confirmed, 605 likely
Total tests in SC: 4,508,762
Hospitalized patients: 2,345
Percentage of positive tests, average of seven days: 22.7 percent. Five percent or less of the tests with positive results is a good sign that the spread of the virus is slowing, say the researchers.
Most affected areas
According to DHEC data, the main counties for new coronavirus cases reported on Thursday were Greenville, 559; Spartanburg, 319; and Richland, 212.
How about tri-county?
On Thursday, Charleston County reported 148 new cases, while Berkeley registered 89 and Dorchester registered 53.
Deaths
Seven of the 39 deaths that DHEC confirmed on Thursday were victims aged 35 to 64 and the rest were 65 or older.
They lived in Abbeville, Anderson, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Greenville, Greenwood, Horry, Jasper, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Pickens and Spartanburg counties.
Hospitalizations
Of the 2,345 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday, 479 were in intensive care and 311 were on ventilators.
What do the experts say?
The authorities continue to urge southern Carolinians to take precautions, such as wearing masks or other face coverings, social distance and frequent hand washing.
They also recommend that anyone who believes they have been exposed to the virus or who are developing symptoms get tested. Those who live in the community or cannot socially distance themselves should be tested monthly, DHEC advised.
