Week in review: COVID cases up, some deaths

By DEUCE NIVEN

tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com

     Nearly 1,000 new COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in Columbus and Horry counties since Sunday, the bulk in Horry with five times the population as Columbus, with ten associated deaths following the same pattern.

     This post will cover these topics and may be updated:

• More than 200 COVID cases in Columbus this week, three deaths?
• Coronavirus cases rise by 784 in Horry this week, a death a day

More than 200 COVID cases in Columbus this week, three deaths?

     COVID-19 has infected at least 202 Columbus County residents, while claiming three lives, data posted since Sunday by the NC Department of Health and Human Services indicates.

     Unclear from that data was one of the deaths, which may have been previously reported by the Columbus County Health Department, its posting on the state dashboard delayed. While the county’s COVID-19 pandemic death total climbed from 102 to 105 during the week, Zip Code data showed only a pair of deaths during the period, both from Lake Waccamaw.

     More than a quarter of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, 57, were reported from the Whiteville Zip Code, Riegelwood following with 30 new cases since Sunday, Tabor City with 23, Chadbourn and Cerro Gordo with 17 each.

     Pandemic case/death totals from the county, as of Friday, were Columbus County 4,750/105; Tabor City, 1,258/26; Whiteville, 1,441/34; Chadbourn, 545/14; Hallsboro, 306/7; Riegelwood, 276/3; Clarendon, 178/3; Lake Waccamaw, 165/8; Bolton, 152/2; Delco, 147/0; Cerro Gordo, 146/2; Nakina, 135/2; Evergreen, 116/3; and Fair Bluff, 96/5.

     North Carolina reported 30,898 new COVID infections since Sunday and 381 associated deaths, bringing those pandemic totals to 705,535 and 8,464 respectively.

     Statewide 3,512 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus Friday, that number down by 350 from Sunday.

Coronavirus cases rise by 784 in Horry this week, a death a day

     It’s become almost routine in recent weeks, the COVID-19 toll of Horry County lives averaging about one per day, with seven lost since Sunday, data from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control shows.

     Most of those lost were elderly, with one middle-aged resident listed who died on Jan. 18. Those elderly deaths took place on Jan. 5, 12, 17, and 19, with two on Jan. 18.

     Another 784 Horry residents have tested positive for the coronavirus since Sunday, the DHEC data showed, including 63 from the Loris Zip Code, 5 from Green Sea.

     South Carolina has recorded 369,782 COVID cases during the pandemic, 5,791 deaths, those numbers up by 17,895 and 137 respectively since Sunday.

     Statewide 2,293 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus Friday, that number down by 82 since Sunday.

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.