Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Oct. 9
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases surpass 150,000
At least 150,033 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina, and 3,325 have died, according to state health officials.
South Carolina reached the milestone two months after passing 100,000 cases on Aug. 10 and three months after reaching 50,000 on July 9.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday reported 874 new cases of the virus and 14 confirmed deaths. The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests on Friday was 11.4% — down from 11.8 on Thursday and 12.9 on Wednesday.
School cases near three-digit jump
K-12 schools in South Carolina reported 99 coronavirus cases since Tuesday, when cases were last reported, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data.
That’s just shy of what could have been the second three-digit increase in COVID-19 cases this week.
Officials recorded 132 new cases statewide on Tuesday — “the largest jump since DHEC began announcing its twice-weekly school district figures on Sept 4,” The State reported.
As of Friday, at least 808 students and 333 employees have tested positive for the virus since the start of the school year.
SC town bans trick-or-treating over COVID-19 concerns
The town of Hampton — about an hour northwest of Beaufort — won’t allow Halloween trick-or-treating because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The town council voted 3-1 on Tuesday to “keep people safe” by banning trick-or-treaters, The Island Packet reported. Mayor Jimmy Bilka supported the decision.
“I would rather err on the side of safety any time, but especially when it comes to our children and future generations,” he said.
There’s no way to enforce the ban, and Bilka said they won’t be issuing tickets or fines. Instead, he said the decision is more about encouraging residents to “use their best judgment,” according to The Island Packet.
The council has another meeting before Halloween, during which Bilka said they can put the matter to a vote again if any of the councilmembers change their mind.
Chester County Schools creates coronavirus dashboard
Chester County School District has published a COVID-19 dashboard online to track the number of coronavirus cases across its schools, The Rock Hill Herald reported.
The website currently reports five cases among students and seven cases among faculty members.
In addition to daily cases, the dashboard will show the trend in cases over the school year. Cases will be added to the dashboard once a student or teacher has reported their positive result to a school nurse or principal, CCSD Public Information Officer Chris Christoff told The Herald.
Positive cases are defined as “a lab-confirmed positive test.”
The cases won’t be removed after a person recovers, and they’ll be broken down by school according to students, faculty members and “other personnel” — which encompasses transportation workers, facilities/operations workers and district office workers, The Herald reported.
Midlands area homeless organizations cope with COVID-19
Homeless service agencies across the Midlands ”sprung into action” when the coronavirus pandemic arrived on South Carolina’s doorstep.
During the early days, The State reported many had to change their operations at the drop of a hat to keep clients safe.
“The idea of not taking people in because of COVID is dangerous because if you’re homeless you don’t have anywhere else to go.” said Craig Currey, CEO of Transitions, the largest homeless shelter in the region. “Where are you supposed to self-isolate? Under a bridge? We weren’t going to let that happen.”
Agencies like Homeless No More closed off common spaces at its facilities, converted housing units into isolation chambers and started doing check-ins over the phone.
Transitions focused more on “aggressive social distancing and mask wearing,” The State reported. Its common areas have been marked for six feet of social distancing, all visitors receive a temperature check and meals are prepackaged “instead of doled out cafeteria style.”
Organizations such as Family Promise of the Midlands had to suspend their practice of housing people through a network of families belonging to various congregations in the region, focusing instead on “triaging some of those emergency cases,” Executive Director Jeff Armstrong told The State.
Graham, Harrison debate format changed to interviews
Friday night’s debate between Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison will now be two back-to-back interviews with the candidates.
The announcement comes after Harrison said he wouldn’t debate if Graham refused to take a COVID-19 test.
Harrison said Graham was in close contact with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah — who has tested positive for the coronavirus — during a Judiciary Committee in which neither were wearing masks. The senators were three seats apart but “were spread out in order to socially distance,” The State reported.
In response, Graham provided a letter from Congressional Attending Physician Brian Monahan, which said the incumbent senator didn’t need to self-quarantine or take a COVID-19 test.
“I will continue to follow the guidance of my doctors, not my political opponent,” Graham said in a news release. “Whether Mr. Harrison attends (Friday’s) debate is his decision, not mine. I will be there.”
Harrison and the debate staff had said they would get tested before the debate at 7 p.m.
Elementary teacher dies from COVID-19
A 71-year-old elementary school teacher in South Carolina has died after complications from the coronavirus.
Margie Kidd had been teaching for 26 years before her death, The Island Packet reported.
Kidd taught first grade at Ridgeland Elementary School in Jasper County, where teachers returned to school in August for “state-mandated, face-to-face assessment activities and instruction for preschool through eighth-grade students,” according to The Packet.
Kidd was nervous about going back, her daughter said, and she always wore a face shield, mask and gloves.
She was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, and then was released but eventually readmitted after she reported having trouble breathing. Doctors then put Kidd on a ventilator, which she stayed on for 21 days until she died.
Her family said they believe being back at school “did have something to do with her getting sick.”
“We lost a most beloved member of our school district family,” the Jasper County School District said in a statement after her death. “She served the people of Jasper County as a professional educator for 26 years. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends and co-workers at RES.”
Horry County schools considers online learning
An uptick in coronavirus cases has forced Horry County schools to consider moving all instruction online after operating partial in-person classes.
The district’s stated plan for reopening is based on weekly reports by state health officials examining the spread of COVID-19 on a county-by-county basis, The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported. Horry County was classified as “medium spread,” allowing for a hybrid schedule, until recently.
Thursday’s report lists Horry with a high spread, which according to the district’s plan would move all learning online starting Oct. 19. The school district said it “will consider the October 15th SC DHEC weekly disease activity report as it relates to the district’s future operational status.”
SC absentee ballots need signature
Absentee ballots in South Carolina without a witness signature will not be counted if they were received after Oct. 7 — regardless of when they were mailed.
The State Election Commission voted Wednesday to bar county election officials from “curing” absentee ballots that lack the signatures after a weeks-long legal battle that’s played out across multiple courts, The State reported.
Under the new requirement, anyone — whether it be a spouse, friend, child or neighbor — can serve as a witness and sign the mail-in envelope with their address. It does not need to be notarized.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 7:17 AM.
