New cases of COVID-19 confirmed in South Carolina have again exceeded 1,400. This occurs after two consecutive days of new cases falling below 870.
The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control reported a further 32 confirmed deaths on February 18, while the state has approached a total of 7,300 deaths since the pandemic began.
As of February 18, 539,461 people in the state of Palmetto had been vaccinated against the virus. People who qualify for Phase 1A and want to be vaccinated can go to scdhec.gov/vaxlocator or call 1-866-365-8110 to find a nearby vaccine location.
State figures
New cases reported: 1,451 confirmed, 342 likely.
Total cases in SC: 431,074 confirmed, 63,970 probable.
Positive percentage: 10 percent.
New deaths reported: 32 confirmed, 8 probable.
Total deaths in SC: 7,277 confirmed, 878 probable.
Percentage of ICU beds occupied: 76.8 percent.
How does SC rank in vaccines administered by 100,000 people?
44 as of February 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most affected areas
In the total number of new confirmed cases, the counties of Greenville (205), Pickens (169) and Spartanburg (172) saw the highest totals.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 86 new cases on February 18, while Berkeley counted 35 and Dorchester 20.
Deaths
Ten of the new confirmed deaths reported occurred among people aged 35 to 64, one was an individual aged 18 to 34 and the remainder were patients aged 65 or over.
Hospitalizations
Of the 1,137 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized until February 18, 265 were in the ICU and 152 were using ventilators.
What do the experts say?
The CDC encourages people to continue to wear masks, avoid crowds, stand 1.8 m away from others and avoid poorly ventilated spaces.
Dr. Linda Bell, DHEC’s chief epidemiologist, said that now is not the time to relax these preventive measures.
The CDC released the guidance on February 10, recommending that using two tightly fitting masks on top of each other increases its effectiveness.
People living in the community are advised to get a COVID-19 test once a month or earlier if they develop symptoms or live with someone who is positive for the virus.
