‘This is not a joke. There is no agenda, ”said the commander of the COVID-19 incident at Prisma Health-Upstate. ‘We really need the public to hear what we are saying now.’
| Greenville News
The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests has recently increased in four northern counties, indicating that respiratory disease is spreading rapidly as South Carolina reports some of its highest case counts.
From December 1 to December 5, 31.3% of the COVID-19 tests carried out in the municipality of Pickens were positive, according to data from the State Department of Health and Environment Control. The percentage of positive tests during the same period was 26.1% in Anderson County, 25.3% in Greenville County and 24.9% in Spartanburg.
Across the state, in the same period, 21.2% of COVID tests were positive, according to DHEC.
Experts say a test positivity rate greater than 5% indicates that COVID-19 is not well controlled in a community.
The state set a three-day record high of nearly 8,000 cases over the weekend.
“We are seeing the spread really increase in the community,” said Dr. C. Wendell James to media members in Greenville on Monday night. James is the commander of the Prism Health-Upstate COVID-19 incident.
“We have a higher rate across the state,” said James. “We are leading the group.”
Large number of new cases leads to more hospitalizations
DHEC has reported 5,030 new cases of COVID-19 in Anderson, Greenville, Pickens and Spartanburg counties since December 1. These four counties, which account for about 22% of South Carolina’s total population, represented 34% of the state’s 14,799 new COVID -19 cases this month.
There have also been 172 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in South Carolina since December 1, according to DHEC.
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And the increase in cases has led to an increase in hospitalizations, James said.
“With regard to what we are seeing in the interior of the state, all facilities are at very, very high census levels now,” he said.
Prisma Health-Upstate is working to maintain staffing levels in its eight hospitals, but James said there are currently no plans to suspend elective surgery.
‘This is not a joke. Believe that this pandemic is still here‘
While recognizing that it may sound like a “broken record”, James again urged residents to take steps to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“We need the public to mask, wash hands, social distance,” he said. “Believe that this pandemic is still here.
“We sorely need the audience to hear what we are saying now. This is not a joke. There is no agenda. This is really what we feel is best for the audience.”
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James said he understands that many people are tired of hearing about the pandemic.
“We have been following this path for a long time,” he said. “People are getting tired of this.”
But with the expected distribution of COVID-19 vaccines yet to come, he urged residents to stay focused.
“Don’t take any chances here at the end of getting this virus,” said James.
Kirk Brown covers government and politics for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM.