Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on May 17
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Latest coronavirus numbers
At least 8,816 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 385 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 163 new cases of the virus and five additional deaths Sunday.
Patients who died were residents of Dillon, Horry, Richland, Sumter and Florence counties.
Worldwide, more than 4.7 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported and more than 314,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.4 million cases and 89,000 deaths have been reported in the United States.
Tourism at Myrtle Beach
Tourist season has started off strong in Myrtle Beach despite the pandemic, The Sun News reports.
With restrictions starting to lift and orders expiring, the area was “packed withe people.” Traffic filled Ocean Boulevard as people went to the beach, to check into hotels and to open restaurants and stores.
Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach State Park beaches were almost full, but people still seemed to be practicing social distancing. But at Broadway at the Beach, people were “on top of each other” as they waited in long lines at restaurants.
Governor highlights face shields
Gov. Henry McMaster visited a 3-D manufacturing company with a packaging warehouse in West Columbia on Friday where face shields for health care workers and consumers are being produced.
Zverse has manufactured more than 3 million face shields for use in health care settings over the last three weeks.
“This new kind of shield gives everyone one more option, one more way to accomplish the mission to be safe and still get their work done,” McMaster said while visiting the facility.
The shields are being used on a trial basis in restaurants, salons and fitness studios where customers and employees sometimes come into close contact. They sell for about $20 each, The State reported.
Seniors protest graduation plans
A group of high school seniors marched past restaurants in downtown Beaufort on Saturday to push for a more traditional in-person graduation ceremony, The Island Packet reported.
“I think we all deserve a proper celebration,” Beaufort High School senior Rachelle Martz said. “Everyone before us has had a proper celebration. I understand we are in the middle of a pandemic, but if 70 other school districts in the state can do this, then so can we.”
Beaufort County previously decided to host virtual graduations and let students pick up diplomas during drive-through events at their schools.
Columbia suggests reopening rules
A Columbia city task force assigned to develop reopening strategies for the city made some suggestions Friday that the group recommends be implemented statewide, The State reported.
“Some of our committee’s recommendations were things we felt needed to be on a broader level and beyond just the city limits, because they’re really things that need to be handled throughout the community,” Columbia budget director Missy Caughman said.
Suggestions included that customers be required to wear masks when at a business, that employers be required to provide workers with protective gear, and that sick workers be guaranteed sick time off without the risk of being fired or let go.
State expecting lots of mail-in ballots
A temporary change in state law means more people will be able to vote by mail-in ballot in South Carolina’s June primary election. Elections officials have already gotten almost 100,000 requests for mail-in ballots for the primary, The State reports. Normally about 60,000 people vote by mail-in ballot in state primaries, officials said.
Lawmakers made the change to allow more mail-in voting for the primary because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of poll workers, The State reports. The temporary change is set to expire before the general election in November.
This story was originally published May 17, 2020 at 7:41 AM.
