<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>From staff reports</strong></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>COVID-19 numbers continue to increase both across the state of South Carolina and here in Beaufort.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Statewide, South Carolina reported 1,954 new cases and 11 deaths on Tuesday.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>There are 1,248 COVID patients hospitalized statewide. That number is at its highest since two days before Valentine’s Day.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Locally, the average for confirmed positive cases for the past seven days is 118.43, the highest since the pandemic began. The previous high seven-day average was around 113 cases in mid-January.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH), as of Tuesday afternoon, had 39 COVID-positive patients, including eight in the Intensive Care Unit and five on ventilators.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The 39 patients is the highest for BMH since it’s all-time high of 44 back on Jan. 8. That day was the third of a three-day stretch with at least 43 COVID-19 patients at BMH.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The number of COVID deaths in Beaufort County remains low, with six coming since mid-June. The death rate, however, typically lags behind reporting of positive cases and hospitalizations.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->