Monday, April 27, 2020, 4:30 pm
This page will be updated regularly as information becomes available.
Testing
DHEC's Public Health Laboratory receives samples from healthcare providers to be tested for COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some private labs to also conduct this CDC-approved testing for COVID-19. These labs are required to report cases of the virus to DHEC for residents of South Carolina. Cases in South Carolina, details on testing, positive cases indicated by heat map, and a summary of case reports and projections is below. Additional data can be found on the cases by by county & ZIP code and demographic data pages.
COVID-19 Testing in South Carolina
| Negative tests from DHEC Public Health Laboratory | 12,334 |
| Negative tests from private laboratories | 34,188 |
| Total negative tests | 46,532 |
| Positive tests from DHEC Public Health Laboratory | 1,816 |
| Positive tests from private laboratories | 3,797 |
| Total positive tests | 5,613 |
| Total number of tests performed in South Carolina | 52,145 |
Last updated April 22, 2020
Note: The blue bars represent new cases reported daily and are graphed using the scale on the left vertical axis. The red line represents cumulative cases and are graphed using the scale on the right vertical axis.
Positive Cases Indicated by Heat Map
The heat map indicates reported cases of COVID-19 in the state. Regardless of the number of reported cases within an area, all South Carolinians should take seriously the recommended precautions for protecting against this disease.
Summary of Case Reports through March 1 and Projections through May 9
Last updated April 20, 2020
Table 1 below presents numbers of COVID-19 cases observed in the ‘Sunday through Saturday’ weeks since March 1 as well as projections of COVID-19 cases through to the week of May 3 – May 9.
For each week, numbers are presented regarding the number of new cases, the cumulative number of cases, the cumulative case rate per 100,000 persons, and whether the numbers were observed (i.e. confirmed cases reported to DHEC) or have been projected.
Table 1
Observed and Projected SC COVID-19 Cases by Week: March 1 to May 9
Table 2 below provides some perspectives of the projected case rate of 136 per 100,000 in SC, on May 9, by comparing it to case rates already observed as of April 18 by those states that have suffered the greatest burden of COVID-19.
Table 2
Comparing South Carolina’s Projected COVID-19 Case Rate per 100,000 to Rates Already Observed as of April 18 by Selected Severely Impacted States
Additional Notes and Explanations
- DHEC reports laboratory-confirmed cases so that the number of positive tests reported for a particular day are considered to be the number of new cases for that day. However, laboratories are not always able to process and test the specimens they receive on the same day of reception. This can relate to the time of day when some specimens reach them, and also to shortages of reagents needed to perform the tests.
- It is also important to note that uncertainties exist not only regarding projections made for the coming month. Since not all people who are positive will be tested, that the number of officially reported cases is not the same as the actual number of cases.
- For modeling, many assumptions are made and, therefore, these are just estimates of projected cases by week.
COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing through May 2020
Last updated: April 27, 2020
Projections by
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation @ University of Washington