Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on April 2
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Latest coronavirus cases
At least 1,554 people have tested positive for coronavirus in South Carolina, and 31 people have died, according to public health officials.
Officials reported five deaths and 261 new cases on Thursday. All 46 counties in the state have now reported cases of coronavirus, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The five deaths were in Florence, Anderson, Horry and Sumter counties. All were older and had other health conditions that put them at increased risk.
More than 1 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide with more than 52,000 deaths as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 244,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,900 deaths.
USC cancels in-person summer classes
The University of South Carolina is calling off all face-to-face classes until August due to coronavirus concerns, The State reported, instead opting for remote learning until it is deemed safe enough for normal operations to continue.
“The modeling currently demonstrates that cases of coronavirus are predicted to peak in late April or early May, just before the first of our summer sessions begins, and the virus will continue to pose a threat even after the peak,” USC President Bob Caslen said in a statement. “We feel the risk of communal infection to the campus and the surrounding community in this closed-campus environment is still unacceptable.”
Boeing begins voluntary layoffs
The airplane manufacturer Boeing is now offering voluntary layoff packages to 161,000 of its employees, including those working in South Carolina, in an effort to preserve the company’s bottom line which has been hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, The State reported.
“Across Boeing, we’re focused on keeping one another and our communities safe as the COVID-19 pandemic reaches every corner of the globe. Our first priority is and will continue to be protecting the health and safety of our people, their families and the stakeholders we touch,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a news release. “We’re also doing everything we can to protect the future of our business.”
DHEC creating address database of infected
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is creating a database of addresses for all confirmed coronavirus patients in the state, in part to help protect first responders, according to the Associated Press.
Health officials said by providing first responders with the addresses, they can arrive on the scene better prepared and with the proper equipment to keep themselves safe from contracting COVID-19, the outlet reported.
Plant shuts down for virus
Samsung is temporarily closing a plant in Newberry County after two employees tested positive for the coronavirus, the company said.
The manufacturing facility will be closed until Monday for cleaning, The State reports.
Jobless claims double
New unemployment claims in South Carolina have hit almost 100,000 in two weeks as more businesses have shut down for the coronavirus.
Almost 65,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in the state last week, up from more than 31,000 claims the week before, The State reports.
Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered all non-essential businesses to close to help slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the state.
Dozens of hospital workers have COVID-19
Thirty-eight people who work at the Medical University of South Carolina facilities in Charleston have tested positive for coronavirus, officials said.
“Officials said MUSC employees aren’t allowed to go to work if they have COVID-19-like respiratory symptoms, or if they haven’t completed the testing process after a high-risk exposure to the coronavirus — in or outside of work,” The State reports.
Amazon worker test positive
An Amazon employee at the company’s West Columbia fulfillment center tested positive for coronavirus, The State reports.
While the worker recovers at home, an Amazon spokesman told The State that the company is taking “extreme measures” to make sure the site is safe.
Two arrested for moving beach barricades
Myrtle Beach police arrested two men Wednesday for moving beach access barricades, The Sun News reports.
The governor ordered all public beach access points closed this week to try to deter people from gathering in large groups. Police said the pair were arrested “under the law that covers looting, violating curfew and failing to disperse,” according to The Sun News.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 7:10 AM.
