McMaster extends state of emergency in South Carolina amid COVID-19 pandemic
Gov. Henry McMaster late Wednesday extended his state of emergency order as the South Carolina continues to respond to the novel coronavirus crisis.
As of Thursday, 10,788 South Carolinians have tested positive for COVID-19, and 470 people have died, according to the state’s health agency.
McMaster first declared a state of emergency on March 13, when cases of the coronavirus were still low. Each state of emergency lasts 15 days.
This month, the state ramped up testing, announcing plans to test every nursing home resident and staff member in the state and to focus testing efforts on minority communities and rural areas. Seniors, minorities and people with underlying health conditions are at higher risk for having complications from the sometimes serious respiratory disease.
On Thursday, speaking to a group of reporters after a meeting of his Accelerate SC coronavirus task force, McMaster said continuing the state of emergency allows the state to have access to federal funds made available for its COVID-19 response.
McMaster said he’s also hoping to make a decision on the next phase of opening the state’s economy “soon.”
McMaster has recently lifted restrictions on several businesses, but concert venues, movie theaters, bowling alleys, racetracks, spectator sports, and adult entertainment venues are still not allowed to operate.
“We know more about it than we did then. We understand the need for social distancing, a new term for most of us,” McMaster said.
