As SC sees record COVID cases, Gov. McMaster warns public of ‘highly dangerous’ behavior
As coronavirus cases in South Carolina continue to increase, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster called the lack of precautions and social distancing around the state “highly disappointing and highly dangerous.”
His statement Thursday came on the tail end of a week of announcements of irregularly high coronavirus case increases. On Thursday alone, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced that 361 additional South Carolinians tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the statewide total number of cases up to 13,005.
Greenville County saw the largest change in cases with 56. Locally, Richland County saw 39 cases, and Lexington County saw 26.
The death toll has also continued to grow, Department of Health officials said, noting they had identified seven additional deaths related to the virus. In all, 525 people in South Carolina have died.
Of the people who died, six were elderly. Spartanburg and Lexington counties saw two deaths each, and Florence and Richland counties saw one each. The final death was a middle-aged patient in Greenville County.
The new cases are the latest indicator that South Carolina is seeing an increase in coronavirus activity. Over the past few weeks, DHEC officials have noted high weekly case numbers, higher seven-day average number of cases and increasing percents of tests that turn up positive.
Four of the last seven days have seen more than 300 cases, a milestone the state never reached before.
And even those metrics don’t paint a complete picture of the coronavirus’ spread across South Carolina. DHEC officials estimate that as much as 86% of people who have contracted the virus have not been tested, meaning that as of Thursday, 92,900 people across the state likely had it.
McMaster told reporters Thursday that if everyone followed recommended health guidelines, it may reverse the rise in cases.
“I’m not sure how to get through to some people other than to point out it’s still here,” McMaster said. “It’s all over the country. It’s not going to evaporate one day. It’s still highly dangerous, and it’s deadly.”
When asked whether he would consider reinstituting some restrictions that could slow the spread of the virus, the Columbia Republican did not give a direct answer.
“You cannot lock down the economy forever because it would just disintegrate and would be hard to revive,” McMaster said.
“There is some point at which mandates simply do not work. They are unenforceable, largely,” McMaster later added.
Some health experts and DHEC officials believe the increase in cases could be due to more residents going out in public, which could lead to later COVID-19 outbreaks. On Wednesday, DHEC officials raised concerns about the widespread protesting over the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, who was killed in police custody.
Since April 20, Gov. Henry McMaster has been incrementally reopening businesses, starting with retail businesses and restaurants and adding close-contact businesses such as salons and gyms, where customers and staff sometimes are in close contact, and attractions.
The coronavirus’ increase in activity may also be due in part to DHEC’s increased testing over the last month. State health officials hope to test about 2% of the state’s population in June, a goal they met in May.
In all, labs across the state have completed 238,808 tests since March, when the state saw its first cases.
DHEC officials have encouraged people to continue to practice social distancing and to limit the number of people they come in contact with.
Hospitals have seen an impact since the first coronavirus cases in March. As of Thursday, 71% of beds at hospitals across the state were occupied. About 453 beds are being used by COVID-19 patients or those who are suspected of having the virus.
DHEC has taken other steps to help with a safe reopening, including increasing their contact tracing staff from 20 to 380. They’ve also contracted with private companies to hire 1,400 more tracers, who work to contact anyone who came near someone who tests positive for COVID-19.
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New coronavirus cases
- Abbeville (1)
- Aiken (5)
- Allendale (1)
- Anderson (13)
- Bamberg (4)
- Barnwell (1)
- Beaufort (5)
- Berkeley (10)
- Calhoun (3)
- Charleston (32)
- Cherokee (4)
- Chesterfield (11)
- Clarendon (1)
- Colleton (6)
- Darlington (3)
- Dillon (5)
- Dorchester (8)
- Edgefield (1)
- Fairfield (9)
- Florence (6)
- Greenville (56)
- Greenwood (9)
- Horry (14)
- Kershaw (3)
- Lancaster (4)
- Laurens (4)
- Lee (3)
- Lexington (26)
- Marion (1)
- Marlboro (4)
- Newberry (3)
- Orangeburg (15)
- Pickens (2)
- Richland (39)
- Spartanburg (35)
- Sumter (6)
- Williamsburg (2)
- York (6)
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 3:23 PM.
