We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

Latest cases

At least 4,608 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 135 have died, according to state health officials.

Eleven deaths and 172 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state Tuesday, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Residents from Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Greenville and Spartanburg counties died, according to health officials. All 11 were “elderly” according to health officials.

There have been more than 100 positive tests a day in South Carolina since March 28, with the exception of April 20. The number of cases is expected to continue climbing, with the peak likely on May 2, The State reports.

The daily death count has been trending downward since April 9, when 16 deaths were reported.

More than 2.5 million COVID-19 cases and more than 177,000 deaths have been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., more than 824,000 cases and 45,000 deaths have been reported.

ACLU sues to release inmates

The South Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Tuesday against the state, alleging it “hasn’t done enough to protect its most vulnerable inmates from the coronavirus,” The State reported.

S.C. ACLU is aided by an outside law firm, Arnold & Porter, in the lawsuit leveled at Gov. Henry McMaster, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Department of Corrections director, the outlet reported.

Coronavirus puts SC prison in lockdown

A second inmate at the Kirkland Correctional Institution has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting prison officials to put the facility into a 14-day quarantine lockdown, The State reported.

Only critical staff will be permitted to enter the prison while its under quarantine, and no new male inmates will be taken in, according to the outlet.

Columbia to give businesses $1 million

The City of Columbia is giving out nearly $1 million to businesses hurt by coronavirus and closures put in place to slow its spread, The State reported Tuesday.

The funds will be divided up among 220 local businesses, and while the city wouldn’t say how much was going to each, it did provide some clarity on which industries should see the most — restaurants will receive 16 percent, salons and barber shops 13 percent, professional services 11 percent, and 10 percent for retail, The State reported.

When will midlands schools reopen?

Midlands school officials don’t want to reopen this school year, according to the results of a South Carolina Department of Education Survey.

Richland, Lexington and Kershaw county officials said they would rather keep campuses shuttered for the time being, due to concerns over spreading the coronavirus, The State reported.

“We feel that it would be impossible to maintain social distancing within our schools,” Lexington 1 spokeswoman Mary Beth Hill told the outlet.

Burn ban lifted

Officials lifted a statewide burn ban for South Carolina Tuesday morning. The ban started two weeks ago in an effort to free up first responders during the coronavirus pandemic, The State reports. It was also meant to make sure smoke didn’t harm people with the virus, which attacks the lungs.

The ban from the state Forestry Commission only applied to unincorporated areas. Towns and cities in South Carolina are in charge of burn bans in incorporated areas.

Cases to continue rising, experts say

State epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said she expects the number of coronavirus cases in South Carolina to keep growing until at least early May, despite the fact some predictive models say the state has already passed its peak.

One model, by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, shows that the state reached the peak of COVID-19 deaths on April 9, but Bell cautioned that the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has not seen a slowdown in new infections, and the situation could still change, The State reported.

Beaches to reopen

Gov. Henry McMaster ordered that all beach accesses can reopen starting at noon Tuesday, lifting the restrictions he ordered in place on March 30, according to The State.

“People of South Carolina are complying very well with orders and recommendations that have been issued,” McMaster said Monday. “In light of the common sense taken by the great people of South Carolina, we are ready to take some steps that will help South Carolina assure that our economic health is as strong as our public health.”

The governor left the option to keep beach accesses closed to local authorities. Myrtle Beach city officials said they would keep public beach accesses closed until further notice, The Sun News reports. But others, including North Myrtle Beach, say they are ready to reopen.

Other beach communities considering keeping public beach accesses closed include Hilton Head, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Folly Beach and Edisto Beach, according to the Island Packet.

McMaster: Some nonessential businesses can reopen

McMaster announced Monday that some businesses deemed “nonessential” by his orders two weeks prior will be able to open back up, The State reported.

Those businesses include department stores and other recently nonessential stores such as “sporting goods stores, book, music, shoe and craft stores, jewelry stores, floral shops and other luggage and leather goods stores,” The State wrote.

Occupancy limits previously ordered for stores will still be in place.

Decision on schools coming this week

A decision on whether to reopen South Carolina’s public K-12 schools, and when, is expected sometime this week, The State reported.

Ryan Brown, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said in statement, “We anticipate a decision and announcement regarding school operations from the Governor very soon.”

While Brown didn’t offer a specific time, state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman told WIS, “I can assure you, by the end of the week, that we will make an announcement and it will be done in the best interests of our students and our teachers and faculty.”

SC won’t reveal nursing homes with COVID deaths

A lawsuit has been filed in Richland County in an attempt to force the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to make public the names of nursing homes where staff and patients have been infected or have died due to coronavirus — something the department keeps secret under current policy, The State reported.

“This is a matter of life and death for people across South Carolina. It’s shocking to think we would not make that information available,” Teresa Arnold, president of S.C. AARP, told The State.

This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 7:14 AM.