Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Oct. 2
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
DHEC reports backlog of 24,000 tests
At least 144,366 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina, and 3,211 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday reported 256 new cases of the virus, up from 229 the day before. DHEC said the low case count is the result of a “temporary reporting delay” as the agency upgrades its internal database — which has been an issue since Wednesday. The totals reported only account for test results submitted by email or fax, while electronic lab reports have not been included.
DHEC said Friday it has finished adding a backlog of 23,902 tests from electronic lab reports, spanning to Sept. 24. Of those tests, 1,479 were positive.
Twelve deaths were reported Friday.
On Friday, DHEC reported a positive test rate of 15.3%, up from 13.5% the day before. Health officials have said that number should be 5% or lower to slow the spread of the virus.
USC cases up slightly
For the first time in several weeks, coronavirus cases at University of South Carolina are up, though only slightly — increasing from 33 Tuesday to 39 on Friday.
The COVID-19 positivity rate remains low. Of the 1,632 tests conducted between Tuesday and Thursday, 1.4% were positive for the virus.
SC Rep. attacks Trump’s handling of COVID-19
During a congressional hearing Friday, South Carolina representative Jim Clyburn wished president Donald Trump and wife Melania a “speedy and complete recovery” from the coronavirus, and then proceeded to attack Trump’s handling of the pandemic — calling it a “failure of historic proportions.”
The hearing, called specifically to discuss president Trump’s response to the virus, was scheduled before news broke early Friday that the first family had tested positive for coronavirus.
Clyburn said the United States has been a world leader in medicine for decades, pioneering new treatments, always at the forefront of discovery. Over the last several months, Trump has tarnished that reputation.
“That is why it has been so heartbreaking that this administration has squandered this legacy by refusing to lead, ignoring our scientists and putting politics over the health of the American people,” Clyburn said. “There can be no doubt that the president’s response to the coronavirus has been a failure of historic proportions.”
Clyburn went on to say that coronavirus has claimed more American lives than World War I, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the wars in Iraq and Iran combined.
Sources including the Congressional Research Service put the fatalities from those wars at around 140,000. As of Friday, over 208,000 Americans had died as a result of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
McMaster lifts restaurant capacity limits
South Carolina restaurants can now operate at 100% capacity.
Friday, Gov. Henry McMaster lifted restrictions on restaurants that limited them to hosting no more than half of their posted capacity, an order intended to promote social distancing and reduce COVID-19 spread. It had been in place since May.
Other measures, including a requirement that tables be spaced six feet apart, and that parties no larger than eight be seated at one table, are strongly encouraged but will no longer be enforced, McMaster said.
Workers and customers must still wear masks while indoors, and alcohol sales and consumption must still cease at 11 p.m.
K-12 cases climb steadily
South Carolina’s K-12 schools have seen another 89 coronavirus cases since Tuesday, when DHEC last reported school data.
On Tuesday, 97 cases were reported. The Friday before, Sept. 25, there were 102 new cases. On Sept. 22, the new case total was 90.
Since the start of the school year, there has been 910 positive tests, including 640 students and 270 employees.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 6:54 AM.