11 students, 1 professor from USC test positive for coronavirus
Nearly a dozen University of South Carolina students have tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19, a school spokesman confirmed to The State on Friday.
In all, 11 students and one professor were confirmed to have the virus. It is unclear if the cases are related, but all of the patients traveled internationally, the school spokesman said.
The positive tests were first reported by The Post and Courier on Friday evening.
These are the first confirmed cases from the state’s flagship university. A Gamecock student-athlete had previously been tested, but that came back negative. At Clemson University, a potential coronavirus case came back negative last Wednesday, and there have been no confirmed cases since then. College of Charleston, The Citadel, USC Upstate, Winthrop and Presbyterian College have all reported no cases of the virus on their campuses.
USC announced this Thursday that it would shift all its classes online for the rest of the spring semester and postpone commencement. It had previously extended spring break a week until March 22 and said classes would be conducted virtually until April 3. In addition, all university sporting events have been canceled through the end of the year, the SEC announced earlier this week.
Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order Thursday calling on all public universities to finish the semester with online-only courses and to allow all workers who can work from home to do so.
As of Friday, South Carolina has logged 125 confirmed coronavirus cases, with one death in a nursing home in Lexington County. Richland County, where USC is located, added 14 new cases Friday, bringing its total to 22. The state’s epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said the development was not surprising.
“We’re reporting cases at the county level, and seeing a jump in cases, particularly in our more populated areas, is not unexpected,” Bell said in a conference call with reporters. “And we expect to see transmission in our communities.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 6:30 PM.
