Covid infections are spiking in South Carolina as DHEC reported 1212 new cases Friday. Just as alarming, the percent of Covid test that were positive is now 12.1%. The World Health Organization states that one threshold for the percent positive being “too high” is 5%; South Carolina is twice that rate.
What Does Percent Positive Mean?
A higher percent positive suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet.
The percent positive is a critical measure because it gives us an indication how widespread infection is in the area where the testing is occurring—and whether levels of testing are keeping up with levels of disease transmission.
Covid Data Reported Friday, July 23, 2021 1:00 p.m.
Data as of Wednesday, July 21, 2021 11:59 p.m.
| Confirmed Cases | 798 | 498,887 |
| Probable Cases | 414 | 107,946 |
| Confirmed Deaths | 3 | 8,710 |
| Probable Deaths | 0 | 1,168 |
| Molecular Test Results | 8,946 | |
| Total Tests | 8,378,164 | |
| Percent Positive | 12.1% |
