McMaster says ‘get tested before turkey’ for Thanksgiving; no new COVID-19 rules in SC
A week before the Thanksgiving holiday, Gov. Henry McMaster asked South Carolinians to get tested for the coronavirus and to take critical precautions before deciding to gather with friends and family especially indoors.
“Get tested before turkey,” McMaster said Thursday, standing near state health leaders. “Easy to remember. Any South Carolinian who wanted to get tested can get tested in South Carolina and get the results back before Thanksgiving Day, which is next Thursday.”
McMaster’s plea comes hours after the country’s lead health agency asked people not to travel for Thanksgiving and spend the holidays with anyone from outside their home as COVID-19 cases have been spiking again in many states, including in South Carolina.
Health experts are fearful that with the holiday season cases and hospitalizations will continue to increase. They also strongly recommend that people continue to distance themselves from others and avoid large groups, in addition to wearing masks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued a warning, advising people not to travel for Thanksgiving or spend the holiday with people they don’t live with.
“The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household,” said CDC Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz, saying that this past week’s more than 1 million new cases nationally is driving the new guidance.
But the governor once again stopped short of announcing any new restrictions and said “no” when asked whether he would enforce a statewide mask mandate. Instead, he recommended gathering in smaller groups, spacing out tables if needed and eating outdoors if weather permits. McMaster also proposed taking short car trips and using “your imagination” by visiting older loved ones for a short period of time and delivering food.
”Be smart,” McMaster said.
In South Carolina, the state’s health department on Friday reported another 1,479 new cases of COVID-19 and 26 new deaths.
In total, the state has logged more than 191,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and close to 4,000 deaths since March.
“We all know know that the virus has dramatically affected the lives of virtually everybody in South Carolina, as well as other parts of the country,” McMaster said. “We have to be careful and we have to be smart so that we can all celebrate again together next year.”
Cases on the rise in SC
South Carolina’s health leaders remain confident the state is prepared for a COVID-19 vaccine when one is approved and available.
Though official approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could come as early as December, initial distribution will be limited to “critical populations,” such as health care and front-line workers. Afterward, the vaccine will be made available to the general public on a limited basis, health officials said, but likely won’t be available to wide swaths of the population for months.
The state’s health agency is anticipating the state to get “very limited quantities” of a COVID-19 vaccine by the year’s end, but doesn’t expect enough vaccine doses for the general population until about early to mid-2021, when “we could start to see a ramp up of more vaccine coming,” said Stephen White, immunization program manager with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
In the meantime, DHEC is enlisting providers that can administer the vaccine. By Wednesday, White said 175 groups statewide were in some stage of enrollment to become distributors.
Hopeful news of a vaccine, however, comes against the backdrop of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide that have contributed to a death toll from the novel coronavirus of more than a quarter-million.
The number of daily cases reported in the U.S. has exploded from roughly 40,000 in September to more than 172,000 cases by Wednesday.
South Carolina has fared better than many states in recent weeks, but is trending in the wrong direction, officials say.
Both the rate of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people and the percent of those tested who are infected has shot up over the last month, according to the latest DHEC data. The state’s seven-day positive average, which reflects how widespread coronavirus infection is in the state, reached 15.3% on Thursday, the highest it’s been since early September.
The number of S.C. deaths attributed to COVID-19 and the number of hospitalizations for the virus also have ticked up this week.
Yet still, McMaster said he would not announce any new restrictions to further curb the virus’ spread.
“We believe that we’re doing it the right way,” McMaster said. “There is no one size fits all in this instance as has been proven in other cases. ... We know the virus is there. We know the virus is deadly, and you need to take that into account wherever you go and whatever you do.”
The Associated Press contributed.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 5:56 PM.
