SC releases 4-day total of 4,600 new COVID cases, a dramatic drop over January totals

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - Over the past four days, South Carolina averaged 1,157 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths per day, according to the latest data.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control released four days of COVID-19 data Tuesday. The agency did not release data Monday because of President’s Day. Tuesday’s release included data from Saturday through Tuesday, but because DHEC reports results on a 48-hour delay, the data covered Thurdsay through Sunday.

Tuesday’s data is a far departure from just a month ago, when the state reported a four-day total on Jan. 25 of more than 68,000 new cases.

The state reported a total of 68 deaths over the four days. Like new case counts, the total deaths took a dramatic downtown over the course of the four days.

The data showed 11 of the deaths were recorded in Lowcountry counties.

Charleston County reported five confirmed and three probable deaths, while Georgetown County reported two confirmed deaths. Berkeley County reported one confirmed death.

In all but one of the days, the positivity rate remained below 10% and the four-day average was 9.05%

The positivity rate also rose to more than 20% for all four days, DHEC said.

Since the pandemic began, DHEC has reported over 1.4 million cases of COVID-19. That figure includes 1.1 million confirmed and 315,963 probable cases.

The state’s death toll stands at 16,600, a figure that includes 14,143 confirmed and 2,457 probable deaths.

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