Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on July 27
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 82,000
At least 82,071 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina and 1,452 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Monday reported an additional 1,226 cases of the virus, up from 1,170 reported Sunday.
Cases reported in the last four weeks have accounted for almost half of all cases reported since March. Last week, daily case counts ranged from 1,368 to 2,335.
An additional 17 deaths were reported Monday, down from the record 74 on Saturday.
COVID-19 positive inmate dies
An inmate at the Perry Correctional Institution died in a hospital Sunday where he was being treated for COVID-19, The State reported.
Carl Frazier Good, 55, is the ninth inmate to die after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to the SC Department of Corrections.
At Perry Correctional Institution, 103 inmates and 26 staff members have tested positive for the virus. And of the 21 SCDOC prisons across the state, there have been 729 confirmed cases among inmates.
Masks to be required on school buses
The South Carolina Department of Education announced it will require all K-12 students to wear masks when riding a school bus once classes resume, as well as teachers, staff, bus drivers and others, The State reported.
The department is also now saying buses should be filled to 67% capacity, as opposed to a max of 50%, which was recommended by the state’s AccleratEd task force.
According to the department, the decision to increase bus capacity was made following conversations between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Environmental Control, health experts, pediatricians and transportation officials.
Six school reopening plans were also approved by the department of education, four of which are offering five-day-a-week, in-person classes as an option.
New Jersey prison is safer than SC, judge says
A federal judge turned down a New Jersey inmate’s request for compassionate release to his Colleton County home, saying South Carolina is highly dangerous for people susceptible to coronavirus.
“Three months ago, the notion that a person would be at greater risk for exposure to COVID-19 in South Carolina than in a prison in New Jersey was preposterous,” U.S. District Judge David Norton, who is based in Charleston, wrote July 17. “Yet, here we are.”
The inmate, Pierre Morgan, requested to serve the last four months of his four-year sentence at his South Carolina home.
Attorney General William Barr has ordered the federal Bureau of Prisons to release inmates at risk of dying from coronavirus. Since March, more than 7,000 inmates have been released, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Morgan, 30, has multiple underlying conditions that put him at a higher risk.
His attorney, assistant federal public defender Ann Briks Walsh, told The State she was surprised at the judge’s finding but is aware of the high rates of infection in South Carolina and appreciates the judge trying to keep Morgan safe.
COVID-19 leads to budget cuts
South Carolina budget forecasters say most of the extra money state lawmakers hoped to spend in the upcoming fiscal year has been dramatically cut due to COVID-19.
Lawmakers were expected to have $2 billion more to spend this year than last — the largest yearly revenue growth in South Carolina history. The money was expected to go toward raises for teachers and state employees and toward fixing state prisons.
But the coronavirus pandemic has led to job losses, high unemployment numbers and a decline in tourism and economic activity.
Now, the extra money is expected to be cut by $1.2 billion, which would leave lawmakers with about $700 million to spend in the upcoming budget. That could decrease if the economy continues to struggle, The State reported.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 7:15 AM.
