Berkeley County ranks second-to-last statewide in COVID testing per capita

Berkeley County and South Carolina have seen a drastic decrease in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths since the peak of its surge in the Palmetto State. Although the pandemic has trended downward to an endemic and daily case counts are now being reported on a weekly basis, free testing sites and no-cost resources are still readily available to monitor the virus.

In March 2022, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) shifted its COVID-19 testing strategy to at-home rapid antigen tests across the state after a significant decrease in demand for drive-through polymerase chain reaction testing. 

Data on the number of at-home tests that the federal government delivers to South Carolina residents is not provided to DHEC. Since Jan. 1, 2023, DHEC has provided 32,837 tests for residents to pick up at any of their health departments. Additionally, DHEC makes antigen tests available at schools, daycares and other facilities around the state.

Although at-home testing is not reportable, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends self-testing for individuals that are currently symptomatic or have been exposed as a close contact to someone with the virus. Possible symptoms include: Fever or chills; cough; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; fatigue; muscle or body aches; headache; new loss of taste or smell; sore throat; congestion or runny nose; nausea or vomiting and diarrhea. 

The CDC urges testing before contact with someone at high risk for severe COVID-19, especially if you are in an area with a medium or high community level. To determine the level, the CDC looks at a combination of three metrics – new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days; the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients; and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days. Based on the latest data, Berkeley County is currently labeled as a low level.

COVID CASES, TESTS & DEATHS

In terms of case rate, Berkeley County ranks 42nd out of all 46 counties with 28,295 cases per 100,000 people, according to DHEC. Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 66,772 cases have been reported in the county as of April 2023. 

As for testing, Berkeley County ranks second to last statewide by population in testing with 539,194 tests taken since February 2020, according to DHEC. The only other county with fewer tests by population is Jasper County which has a population of 31,588 compared to Berkeley County’s 235,987.

Berkeley County ranks at the bottom of all the counties for the number of COVID-19 deaths reported per capita with 499 deaths, according to DHEC. 

For the dates April 13-19, Berkeley County reported 20.62 cases per every 100,000 population with an average of 2.3 new COVID-19 admissions and 1% result in hospitalizations, according to the CDC.

One-third of Berkeley County, 66.1% of the population, is vaccinated with at least one dose. Fifty-five percent have received the second dose and only 9.4% have the updated booster, according to the CDC.

By age range, 70.2% of the county’s population 5 or older has at least one dose; 75.1% for 12 and older; 77% for 18 and older and 95% of the senior population of 65 or older. 

Visit COVIDtests.gov to order free self-test kits.