Another 35 new COVID cases for Columbus as Horry numbers remain murky
By DEUCE NIVEN
tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com
COVID cases continue to climb in area counties, 35 more confirmed in Columbus, with a confusing picture painted by the numbers for Horry.
This post will cover these topics and may be updated:
- Columbus reports 35 COVD cases since Monday
- New Horry COVID deaths though data remains unclear
Columbus reports 35 COVD cases since Monday
Another 35 Columbus County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since Monday, the Columbus County Health Department reports in the second of its two scheduled pandemic updates this week.
That brings the pandemic total for the county to 1,419 cases with 57 COVID associated deaths.
That case total includes eleven cases confirmed after Monday’s update, nine Tuesday, fourteen Wednesday, and one case so far today (Thursday).
“There are currently seven Columbus County residents that are hospitalized due to COVID-19,” the health department reported. “There have been 1,185 COVID-19 recoveries.”
Currently about 177 Columbus residents have active COVID cases, the health department reported.
Zip Code data provided daily by the NC Department of Health and Human Services that typically lags behind county data showed seven new cases in the Whiteville area Thursday, two in Hallsboro, one in Delco.
Statewide COVID-19 cases rose by the biggest number since early July Thursday.
North Carolina recorded 2,522 new COVID infections and 47 related deaths Thursday, pandemic totals now at 212,909 and 3,579 respectively. Statewide 939 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus, that number down 17 from Wednesday.
New Horry COVID deaths though data remains unclear
As many as three Horry County residents have died from COVID-19 complications, perhaps just one, confusing data from South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control showed Thursday.
DHEC reported confirmed COVID related deaths of a middle aged person Tuesday, an elderly resident Wednesday, in a data report Thursday. It also showed a delayed “probable” COVID death from Sept. 10.
However, cumulative data that DHEC has referred to as the most accurate source of information showed a single newly confirmed death Thursday, though Wednesday’s its confirmed deaths were reduced by two from Tuesday.
As of Thursday, DHEC reports 184 Horry residents have been claimed by the coronavirus during the pandemic.
At least as confusing has been DHEC data on confirmed COVID cases in the past few days. Its data Thursday showed a pandemic total of 9,894 confirmed cases, 46 fewer than Wednesday, marking a continued trend that has seen the pandemic total reduced from as high as 10,020 on Monday.
Those numbers change, a DHEC spokeswoman explained earlier this week, as investigations sometimes reveal that individuals counted in one county actually live in another.
Zip Code data from DHEC also showed an adjustment in the Loris area Thursday, the pandemic total reduced by a single case to 592, while the total for Green Sea remained at 47.
South Carolina has recorded 143,787 COVID cases during the pandemic, 3,203 deaths, those numbers up by 229 and 20 respectively since Wednesday.
Statewide 709 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus Thursday, that number down by 20 from Wednesday.
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.
