In COVID-19 update, SC’s McMaster says more reopenings news could come this week
Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday said an announcement regarding the next wave of business reopenings could occur before the end of the week, but that he and health officials want to be careful and ensure loosening more restrictions doesn’t risk public health.
“We’re being very careful, and we hope to be able to announce something in maybe even before the week is out, of some future dates,” McMaster told reporters, during a briefing on COVID-19 in the state. “That’s a, we’re calculating, gathering information to make those decisions. We want to make them as ... soon as we can to reopen things, ... but also it must be safe.”
State health officials reported another 97 positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing state’s total since it started testing for the coronavirus to 6,936. The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control estimate there could be more than 49,500 untested cases of the virus in South Carolina.
DHEC announced Wednesday it plans to nearly double the number of coronavirus tests administered in South Carolina over the next two months, targeting specifically nursing homes, minority communities and rural areas.
The agency said Wednesday it has so far tested slightly more than 1% of the state’s population — or about 68,000 people out of about 5.1 million — and it plans to increase those numbers to 220,000 tests in May and June combined.
McMaster recently scaled back his mandatory work-or-home order and lifted restrictions on outside dining, short-term rentals and travelers who come into the state. The governor did, however, keep his order that excludes inside service.
Still, restaurants, particularly around the Columbia area, have seen crowds as the weather gets nicer.
McMaster said Wednesday the best regulators of those violating social distancing measures will be the businesses and the customers themselves, adding every person is aware of the disease and how it is spread.
Those who choose to violate the precautions, McMaster said, “I’m sure will hear about it from the other neighbors and the customers.”
“I think the marketplace will take care of a lot of that,” McMaster said.
Dr. Joan Duwve, DHEC’s director of public health, reiterated Wednesday South Carolinians should still abide by the 6-foot social distancing measures and wear masks, echoing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Just because we’re increasing testing in our communities, doesn’t mean that we should stop the social distancing that we have been doing, it doesn’t mean that we should stop thinking about hand hygiene,” Duwve said. “We should still stay home when we’re sick, and wearing a mask in public is critically important, ... because you may not know if you’re infected. You may not know if the person in front of you or next to you is infected.”
McMaster was asked why he hasn’t been seen wearing a mask himself when he’s out.
“Because this is the only place I go is here (the University of South Carolina Alumni Center) and the emergency management division and home,” McMaster said. “If you see me somewhere else, it’s somebody else.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 5:09 PM.
