Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Oct. 6
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 147,000
At least 147,800 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina, and 3,275 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Tuesday reported 693 new cases of the virus, up from 545 reported the day before.
Tuesday, 12.9% of COVID-19 tests were positive, DHEC says. That’s up from 11% Monday but a significant drop from 32.6% Saturday — a spike caused by a “temporary reporting delay” as the agency upgrades its internal database.
Seventeen deaths were reported Tuesday.
K-12 cases up by 132
Coronavirus cases in South Carolina’s K-12 schools have increased by 132 since Friday, when the state Department of Health and Environmental Control last reported COVID-19 data on schools.
There have been 1,042 confirmed cases since the school year started, including 741 students and 301 employees.
DHEC reported 89 new cases last Friday, and 97 on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
SC prisons to spend $1 million on COVID-19 plan
Since the pandemic began, 31 inmates have died in South Carolina prisons, and now the state Department of Corrections plans to spend $1 million on air ionizers, hoping the devices will slow the spread of coronavirus at their facilities.
Legislative documents say the ionizers will be installed in heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems at the department’s correctional facilities by December. There are about 16,000 inmates and 4,600 employees at the facilities.
“These air ionizing devices remove viruses such as COVID-19, as well as other viruses and mold within inmate living, recreational and working areas,” according to documents filed with the state Joint Bond Review Committee.
The committee has reviewed the proposal, which is expected to cost $926,000.
DHEC: Get tested once a month
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control issued a new guidance Monday, saying that most people should get tested for COVID-19 once a month, especially if they are frequently around others.
DHEC also recommended that anyone who has been in contact with someone with the coronavirus should also get tested, even if they aren’t displaying any symptoms.
These new guidelines are meant to mirror those adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in mid-September.
Testing increases in SC after Trump diagnosis
Prisma Health has been performing more COVID-19 tests, and receiving more requests to schedule testing, since news broke about President Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.
“People are symptomatic, and there is a heightened awareness of COVID-19 after the superspreader event,” said Dr. Saria Saccicio, ambulatory chief medical officer at Prisma Health Greenville, referring to alate-September event at the White House attended by many who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
Saccicio said Trump falling ill has motivated more South Carolinians to get checked.
“The best recommendation is to be tested,” she said. “Thanks to President Trump, there is an increased awareness that COVID-19 is still with us.”
Midlands company pushed false coronavirus treatment
A Columbia-based pharmaceutical company has been warned by the Food and Drug Administration to stop promoting an asthma treatment drug it manufactures as a “cost effective way” to treat the coronavirus.
According to a letter from the FDA to Nephron Pharmaceuticals, CEO Lou Kennedy and a company sales representative sent emails claiming their Budesonide inhaler product could treat respiratory issues caused by COVID-19.
There is no proof the drug can do that, the FDA says.
“These claims and representations, which misleadingly suggest that Budesonide is safe and effective for a use for which it is not approved and for which you have provided no evidence to support, are particularly alarming from a public health perspective because COVID-19 has caused significant morbidity and mortality, and because there is currently no FDA-approved treatment for symptoms associated with COVID-19,” Robert Dean, director for the FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion, wrote in the letter.
In a statement, Nephron’s CEO said the company is “working diligently with FDA to resolve the matter and (has) no further comment at this time.”
Columbia veteran’s parade canceled
Columbia’s 42nd annual Veteran’s Day parade has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department announced Monday.
The parade was called off “to protect citizens and minimize opportunities to spread COVID-19 in our community,” officials said in a release.
Mail-in voting witness requirement reinstated by Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated South Carolina’s witness requirement for absentee voting, meaning a person who submits a mail ballot must also have another person sign the envelope as a witness of their vote.
The battle, which has pitted Democrats and Republicans against each other, started Sept. 18 when U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs of Columbia ordered that South Carolinians voting by mail are not be required to get a witness signature on their mail-in ballot envelope because of the dangers of COVID-19.
Her order was appealed to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and on Sept. 24, a three-judge panel overturned her order. But on Sept. 25, a majority of the full 4th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the panel’s ruling and reinstated Childs’ order.
The S.C. Election Commission’s governing board, which is majority Republican, last Monday voted to appeal the full 4th Circuit ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on Thursday, lawyers representing the state Election Commission, the state Republican Party and others submitted a 37-page request for an emergency stay of Childs’ order with the high court. Lawyers for the Democrats were given until 2 p.m. Saturday to submit an opposing motion.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously to reinstate the witness requirement. But the ruling says “any ballots cast before this stay issues and received within two days of this order may not be rejected for failing to comply with the witness requirement.”
South Carolina voters are expected to cast hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots this election.
The AARP has voiced concerns to the Supreme Court regarding witness signatures, asking the court to uphold Childs’ decision.
“South Carolina law (requiring a witness signature) needlessly puts at great risk the health of medically vulnerable individuals,” the AARP filing said.
While the AARP is not directly involved in the lawsuit, the senior citizen group filed as a friend of the court, meaning it believes the court’s decision will impact the organization and it wants the judges to know where the AARP stands on the issue.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 7:15 AM.