COLUMBIA — Pickens County’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was up to 164 as of Monday afternoon — an increase of 40 cases from the same day last week.

Six new cases reported Monday in Pickens County were part of nearly 300 new cases announced statewide by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The state was up to a confirmed 12,148 cases as of Monday afternoon, DHEC said.

Three people have died of COVID-19-related causes in Pickens County, while 500 had died across the state during the pandemic as of Monday, according to officials.

DHEC has reported an 86 percent recovery rate statewide, meaning that of Pickens County’s 164 confirmed cases, about 141 patients are expected to have recovered.

The county has the 12th-lowest population-adjusted COVID-19 rate of the state’s 46 counties, with a rate of 129.25 cases per 100,000 residents. Neighboring Oconee County, which had reported 54 cases and no deaths as of Monday, has the lowest rate in the state, with just 67.89 cases per 100,000 residents.

As of Sunday, a total of 210,826 tests had been conducted in the state, by both DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory and private labs. DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory is operating extended hours and is testing specimens seven days a week. The Public Health Laboratory’s current timeframe for providing results to health care providers is 24-48 hours.

As part of ongoing efforts to increase testing in underserved and rural communities across the state, DHEC is working with community partners to set up mobile testing clinics that bring testing to the communities. There are already more than 100 mobile testing events scheduled through next month, with new testing events added regularly.

Events are scheduled from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday at Gettys Middle School in Easley and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday at Pickens Middle School. To find out more about the testing events or find a mobile testing clinic event near you, visit scdhec.gov/covid19mobileclinics.

There are also currently 166 permanent testing locations at health care facilities throughout the state. Those testing sites can be found at scdhec.gov/covid19testing.

For the latest information related to COVID-19 visit scdhec.gov/COVID-19. Visit scdmh.net for stress, anxiety and mental health resources from the S.C. Department of Mental Health.