Horry records highest one-day total of newly confirmed COVID cases; testing in Tabor as cases climb in Columbus
Nurses talk COVID tests during a drive-up clinic at Goshen Medical Center in Tabor City Friday. (Deuce Niven, TLT)
By DEUCE NIVEN
tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com
COVID-19 is clearly moving in area communities, despite, and perhaps because of restrictions that have eased in the Carolinas since Memorial Day.
This post will cover these topics and may be updated:
- Horry records biggest one-day case count of the pandemic; Loris area has five more with COVID
- Coronavirus testing in Tabor, Zip Code data shows 18 new cases in Columbus
Horry records biggest one-day case count of the pandemic; Loris area has five more with COVID
COVID-19 cases surged up by 88 cases between Thursday and Friday, the pandemic total now 936, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control reported.
That was the largest number of new cases in a single day in Horry since the pandemic began.
Five of those new cases were in the Loris Zip Code, DHEC data reported, bringing that total to 145, while the Green Sea area total held at 11.
Another resident of Loris Rehab and Nursing Center has died of COVID-19, DHEC reported Friday. Congregate care reports are issued twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday.
Eleven residents have died of COVID 19 at Loris Rehab since the pandemic began, with 55 residents and 24 staff members infected with the disease.
Statewide another 770 COVID cases were confirmed by laboratories, DHEC data showed, the pandemic total now at 17,170; with 593 Palmetto State residents killed by the virus, an increase of five; and 512 South Carolina residents in the hospital because of the disease, that number up by 18 from Thursday.
Coronavirus testing in Tabor, Zip Code data shows 18 new cases in Columbus
More than 100 people had nasal swabs taken for COVID-19 testing at the Goshen Medical Center offices in Tabor City Friday, part of a county-wide testing initiative co-sponsored by the Columbus County Health Department.
Dr. Paul Rhodes said the office has been doing frequent testing, often for people who have been around someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
More recently, including Friday, many of those who were tested were being even more cautious.
“We’re seeing not necessarily someone who has been around someone who has tested positive,” Dr. Rhodes said. “It’s more people who have been around someone who has been around someone else who was positive.”
As positive test results are climbing in the area, especially in neighboring Horry County, Dr. Rhodes said he’s noticed two kinds of people.
“We have those who are very cautious, and we have those who act like it’s over,” Dr. Rhodes said. “There’s really not much in between.”
Columbus County Health Department is currently releasing COVID data twice weekly, each Monday and Thursday. Zip Code based data is released daily by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, and that data showed 18 new Columbus residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus, and one additional death, that one in Fair Bluff.
There are timing differences in the county data and that posted on the DHHS dashboard, and comparisons of the data between the two are discouraged.
That DHHS data showed three new cases in the Tabor City Zip Code, that total up to 95; eight more cases in Whiteville for a total of 115; and seven new cases in Riegelwood taking that total to 16.
NC Totals: Statewide there are 39,249 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 100 North Carolina counties Friday, up by 1,768 from Thursday and the biggest one-day increase of the pandemic, the DHHS reported.
There were 1,092 North Carolina deaths attributed to COVID-19 Friday, 28 more than Thursday; with 760 current hospitalizations, that number down by 52 from the day before.
CC Health Updates: Regularly updated information from the Columbus County Health Department is available on its Facebook page here.
Columbus County Health Department’s COVID-19 Call Center is also operating from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Call 910-640-6615 ext. 7045 or 7046.
Updates
Look for continuing coverage on local impacts from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak here and in the Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.
