Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Oct. 10
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 150,915 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina, and 3,346 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 Saturday reported 860 new cases of the virus and 21 confirmed deaths. The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests on Friday was 10.6% — down from 11.4% on Friday.
Horry County sees steep rise in coronavirus cases as week’s numbers grow again
Horry County added 122 coronavirus cases to its count Saturday as the area experienced a rise in positive cases, continuing a spike over the past couple days, health officials announced.
Saturday numbers bring total COVID-19 cases in the county to (10,484) and total deaths from the virus to 189, with one new death Saturday, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. This week’s daily numbers are pacing far ahead of last week’s, when the weekly total was below 200 for the first time in four months.
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.
Beaufort County extends COVID-19 emergency
In a last-minute Friday night meeting, Beaufort County Council once again voted this week to extend its state of emergency.
The motion officially passed this time.
The temporary law that allows officials to meet virtually — and gives the county administrator the power to implement an emergency operations plan — will be in place until Dec. 9 or until the governing body rescinds it.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 7:17 AM.
