| Greenville News
Health officials reported 331 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and an additional 13 deaths, according to a daily update from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Friday’s figures bring the total number of people confirmed to be carriers of the virus in the state to 11,131. Deaths now total 483.
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Friday’s new case count is more than double the number reported on Thursday, when DHEC announced 156 new cases.
The 331 new cases are the highest single-day case count since the pandemic began, DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick said in an email on Friday.
The increase is most likely due to increased testing across the state, including universal testing of workers and nursing home workers in all 194 state nursing homes being completed this week, she said.
Friday’s record comes two days after South Carolina had the highest total COVID-19 deaths in one day.
Map of coronavirus SC: An analysis of COVID-19 cases by county and postal code
Friday’s jump also comes a day after Governor Henry McMaster told News that the recent increase in the percentage of positive cases of COVID-19 may be related to the increase in testing efforts in nursing homes that began on 11 May.
DHEC officials announced this week that they reached their goal of testing more than 110,000 residents in May, which is equivalent to 2% of the state’s population. More tests were conducted in the week before Memorial Day than in the weeks before April 20, The Greenville News reported.