The numbers of coronavirus cases in the city and in Charleston County “are good” with a “very, very low” growth rate, said Charleston’s director of innovation, Tracy McKee, on Wednesday morning.
McKee, during a meeting of the Health and Welfare Advisory Committee, said the rate of positive county test results “appears to be hovering” at 7 percent in the past two weeks. This is higher than the positive 5 percent rate that experts say indicates a slower spread, but a marked improvement since the peak of the summer that made Charleston a hot spot.
The city will loosen restrictions again in the next few weeks, McKee said, meaning that city offices will be open to the public. But the authorities continue to encourage people to do business digitally, over the phone or by video conference.
“When in person, it is absolutely necessary and we are obviously wearing masks and social detachment requirements,” said McKee. “We also ask people to limit personal meetings to less than 15 minutes.”
In addition, McKee said city officials are looking to Europe and New York as coronavirus cases increase there.
During the meeting, medical director of the Lowcountry Department of Health and Environmental Control, Dr. Katy Richardson, said the state is putting “an additional emphasis on the need for testing”.
DHEC recommends that anyone who is less than 2 meters from people without a mask for more than 15 minutes be tested about a week later, if they are not symptomatic.
“Now we are increasingly emphasizing the screening test for those who live in the community – even if they are taking precautions – at least once a month,” said Richardson. “For those around other people who can’t or don’t wear masks, we encourage testing more frequently than that.”
Richardson said DHEC will present its vaccine distribution plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the middle of the month, so that it will be “firmly implanted” when vaccines start arriving in the state, although it is not known when this will occur.
State figures
New cases reported: 556, which is 252 percent more than the 158 registered on March 31, the day Governor Henry McMaster ordered the closing of non-essential deals.
Total cases in SC: 148,334, plus 5,371 probable cases.
New reported deaths: 27
Total deaths in SC: 3,300, plus 202 probable deaths.
Hospitalized patients: 707
Total tests in SC: 1,539,978
Percentage of positive tests, average of seven days: 15.7 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
South Carolina’s top counties for new coronavirus cases reported on Wednesday were Horry, 86; Lexington, 50; and Richland, 44.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 26 new cases, Berkeley had eight and Dorchester had 10.
One of the deaths reported on Wednesday was an elderly resident of Charleston, another was an elderly resident of Berkeley. Authorities believe the death of a middle-aged Dorchester resident is also related to the virus, but are still working to confirm this.
Deaths
Of the 27 new deaths, 21 were elderly patients aged 65 and over and five were middle-aged patients aged 35 to 64 years. One was a young adult, aged between 18 and 34 years.
They lived in Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Cherokee, Chester, Dillon, Florence, Greenville, Horry, Lancaster, Lexington, Marion, Orangeburg, Spartanburg, Sumter and Union counties.
Hospitalizations
Of 707 coronavirus patients who were hospitalized by Wednesday, DHEC said, 183 were in intensive care with 93 on ventilators.
What do the experts say?
Public health officials continue to urge Southern Carolinians to take precautions such as wearing masks or other facial masks, social distancing 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 distance themselves socially should be tested monthly, DHEC advised.
There are 141 mobile test events scheduled through November 30 and 315 permanent test facilities. Visit scdhec.gov/covid19testing to find a test site in your area.
Talk to Sara Coello at 843-937-5705 and follow her on Twitter @smlcoello.