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Officials: Another Child Has Died of COVID in Chester County

In July, Chester County reported the state's first pediatric death associated with COVID, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The child was reportedly under the age of five.

Children in a classroom.
AP
(TNS) - Dec. 20—ROCK HILL — Another child under the age of 17 has died after contracting coronavirus in Chester County, the state health agency said Sunday, marking the county's second pediatric death to date.
 
In July, Chester County reported the state's first pediatric death associated with COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The child was under the age of five, according to DHEC.
 
The child whose death was reported Sunday died on Oct. 23, according to DHEC. The agency did not release any more identifying information on the child.
 
The recent death marks the fourth confirmed pediatric death statewide, according to DHEC data. A pediatric death was also reported in July in Greenville County, and in September, a pediatric death was reported in Sumter County.
 
Last week, Chester County reported its first young adult death associated with the virus. That patient died on Dec. 10, just seven days after a young adult died in York County. DHEC considers anyone of ages 18-34 to be in that category.
 
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"It's a sad situation," Chester County's deputy director of emergency management, Ed Darby, said last week of the young adult. "It's unusual for young folks to have problems with (the virus). We've seen that throughout the country, but it does happen. We've seen people throughout the age spectrum, but it's rare."
 
Chester County has had a total of 40 confirmed deaths since March, 17 of which included individuals who were older than 81, according to DHEC.
 
On Sunday, 36 confirmed deaths were attributed to COVID-19 across the state, including the Chester County pediatric death and two Lancaster County residents.
 
One Lancaster County resident, 65 or older, died Tuesday after contracting the virus, according to DHEC officials. The other, between 35 and 64, died on Friday from the virus.
 
More than 253,000 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the virus since March and 4,566 have died, according to DHEC data.
 
What about SC's COVID-19 cases?
 
For the first time since mid-November, York County recorded fewer than 60 new coronavirus cases.
 
The county added 59 confirmed cases Sunday, according to DHEC. The lowest added before that was 56 on Nov. 16. York County has been averaging 200-plus cases a day and reported less than 100 cases just one other time this month, according to DHEC data.
 
In the last two weeks, the county has had more than 2,250 cases. York County, with about 280,000 people, has reported 13,294 confirmed or probable cases since the pandemic started, according to DHEC.
 
Lancaster County added 47 confirmed cases Sunday. On Friday, the county reported more than 100 cases for the first time during the pandemic, according to DHEC data. The county of about 98,000 people has reported 4,576 confirmed or probable cases since March, according to DHEC data.
 
In Chester County, there were six confirmed cases, according to DHEC data. The county has been averaging 20-plus cases a day this month. Since March, Chester County, with about 32,000 people, has reported a total of 1,993 confirmed or probable cases.
 
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