Charleston County patient among two who died from COVID-19 related illness

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - On Friday night, state health officials reported two more coronavirus related deaths in South Carolina.

One patient was an elderly person with an underlying health condition from Charleston County and was a resident of Harmony Assisted Living Facility, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

DHEC said the other patient was an elderly person with an underlying health condition from Florence County.

“Sadly, our state has suffered the loss of two of our own,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said. “In the case of both deaths, the patients had recently been reported to have been diagnosed with COVID-19. On behalf of all South Carolinians, we want to express our deepest sympathy for the families and loved ones of these two individuals.”

This brings the state’s total number of deaths to three.

The first coronavirus related death in South Carolina was reported on Monday.

DHEC says the patient was an elderly person who was a resident of Lexington Medical Center Extended Care Skilled Nursing Facility.

Earlier on Friday, DHEC announced that they were investigating 45 new cases of coronavirus in South Carolina.

The new cases include one in Charleston County, one in Berkeley County, one in Beaufort County, and two in Orangeburg County.

This brings the total number statewide to 125 cases in 25 counties, according to DHEC.

New cases of COVID-19 that were reported on Friday, March 20 are as follows:

• Aiken County: 1 new case
• Anderson County: 3 new cases
• Beaufort County: 1 new case
• Berkeley County: 1 new case
• Charleston County: 1 new case
• Clarendon County: 1 new case
• Darlington County: 1 new case
• Florence County: 1 new case
• Greenville County: 5 new cases
• Horry County: 2 new cases
• Kershaw County: 7 new cases
• Lexington County: 3 new cases
• Orangeburg County: 2 new cases
• Pickens County: 1 new case
• Richland County: 14 new cases
• Sumter County: 1 new case

State health officials are again emphasizing the importance of practicing disease prevention measures and following recommendations for social distancing to protect the health and safety of all South Carolinians. This includes:

• Washing your hands often
• Covering your cough
• Staying home when you’re sick, and
• Appropriately disposing tissues and other items that you’ve sneezed or coughed into.

More than half of South Carolina’s 46 counties now say they have at least one positive case, The hardest-hit county is Kershaw, where one of the state’s first cases was reported.

Here is a breakdown of cases by county:

• Abbeyville: 1
• Aiken: 1
• Anderson: 6
• Beaufort: 8
• Berkeley: 1
• Calhoun: 1
• Charleston: 5
• Clarendon: 1
• Darlington: 1
• Fairfield: 1
• Florence: 1
• Greenville: 12
• Horry: 8
• Kershaw: 36
• Lancaster: 3
• Lee: 1
• Lexington: 8
• Orangeburg: 2
• Pickens: 1
• Richland: 22
• Saluda: 1
• Spartanburg: 1
• Sumter: 1
• York: 1

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