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

Latest cases

At least 4,761 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 140 have died, according to state health officials.

Five deaths and 160 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state Tuesday, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Three elderly patients from Berkeley, Clarendon, and Richland counties died, as did two middle-aged residents of Greenville and Spartanburg counties, according to health officials.

More than 2.6 million COVID-19 cases and more than 183,000 deaths have been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., more than 840,000 cases and 46,000 deaths have been reported.

Lockdown protest coming to Columbia

An in-car protest against restrictions and closures put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus is planned for downtown Columbia at noon Friday, The State reported.

Two Facebook pages with different names detail the event, one called “Operation Gridlock SC Columbia Reopen & Rescue SC Economy,” and the other “Drive to Thrive SC.”

Columbia police Chief Skip Holbrook told The State, “We are aware of it, we are tracking it.”

“We are making sure they can have their event, with their safety and everybody else’s safety,” said Holbrook, who declined to identify event organizers. “They don’t plan on getting out of their vehicles, they indicated they intend to follow the rules of the road, not obstruct traffic — their plan is to be seen and heard.”

Schools will remain closed

Schools in South Carolina will stay closed for the rest of the academic year and K-12 students will finish the semester through online and distance learning, Gov. Henry McMaster announced Wednesday.

Public schools have been closed since March 15 and had been scheduled to reopen at the end of April. The governor said he will issue a new formal order next week to keep schools closed for the rest of the school year.

According to The State: “In his Wednesday announcement, McMaster emphasized that districts would have ‘flexibility’ moving forward with instruction, and touched on high school graduation, a major concern for seniors across the state.”

State parks will reopen May 1

South Carolina state parks will begin to reopen May 1, officials say. Trails, beaches, picnic areas, rivers and lakes will open for visitors, but picnic shelters, community buildings and park offices will stay closed, officials said.

Parks will allow a limited number of visitors so they do not get too crowded, The State reports.

Coronavirus in the sewage

Researchers say they found coronavirus in sewage at the wastewater treatment plant in Columbia.

If the virus spikes in treatment plans, that could tell scientists when there’s another outbreak of the coronavirus on the way for that community, The State reports.

Public health officials don’t have a baseline for how much of the virus to expect in the water, but that’s what University of South Carolina researchers said they hope to figure out.

DHEC releases list of nursing homes with cases

Public health officials released new details on nursing homes and assisted living facilities with known cases of the coronavirus.

DHEC disclosed the information a day after The State newspaper reported that officials had been keeping it secret.

A 135-bed facility in Hanahan, near Charleston, was the worst hit with 57 cases of the virus between staff and patients, DHEC said. A facility in Columbia had 29 cases.

The department said it would release details next week on how many people have died in each nursing home.

ACLU sues to release inmates

The South Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state.

Attorneys filed the suit for inmates with less than six months left on their sentences and risk factors that make them more susceptible to the coronavirus, The State reported. They argue that a shortage of testing and no real ability to do social distancing in the state’s prisons makes it more likely that the virus could spread through the prison population.

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 it’s 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 almost $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 get 16%, salons and barber shops 13%, professional services 11%, and 10% for retail.

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 said.

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 7:23 AM.