Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Jan. 4
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Positive test rate hits record high
At least 299,685 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina since March, and 5,056 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Monday reported 3,492 new COVID-19 cases, marking the fourth consecutive day new cases topped 3,000.
Fifteen new deaths were reported Monday.
As of Monday, 33.3% of COVID-19 tests in the state were positive, the highest ever percent positive. Health officials have said the number should be closer to 5%.
A record 2,155 people in South Carolina were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Monday.
Second York County Council member tests positive
Allison Love, the York County Council member representing Lake Wylie and Clover, has tested positive for the coronavirus, she announced Monday.
Love ran unopposed in the 2020 election and was scheduled to be sworn in Monday night — instead she’ll be sworn in on Zoom.
“Got tested out of an abundance of caution because my taste and smell is absent and I didn’t want to be around people if I am contagious,” Love wrote in a Facebook post.
Love is the second member of the York County Council to test positive for the virus, after William Roddey was hospitalized for a week in September.
Entire women’s homeless shelter quarantined in Myrtle Beach
A women’s homeless shelter in Myrtle Beach is under quarantine after a positive COVID-19 case was confirmed at the facility last week, The Sun News reported.
New Directions confirmed that one of the women at the shelter tested positive, and her roommate is also showing symptoms. Both have been moved into a hotel with the help of a New Directions community partner, and the remaining 17 women at the shelter are being quarantined.
New Directions’ men’s shelter saw its first coronavirus case only recently, but there’s no evidence the cases at the two shelters are related, Executive Director Kathy Jenkins said.
“It’s just like everybody else,” she said. “You know, our women are out working. They’re not in isolation. So just like any of the rest of us, they can pick it up anywhere, pick it up at a doctor’s office and in the local 7/11, grocery store or any place else that people go to get the things that they need.”
COVID surge has slowed vaccine rollout, SC officials say
As of Monday, South Carolina had administered roughly 33% of the COVID-19 vaccine doses available, and health officials said the surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in recent months is largely to blame.
Many of the state’s health care systems and facilities are burdened, making it more difficult to handle their duty of vaccinating those currently qualified to receive it, Brannon Traxler, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s interim director, said Monday.
Traxler asked the public to follow guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“It will help remove the burden from our hospitals and other health care providers that they’re currently experiencing, and so that will allow more health care workers to be available to administer vaccines,” Traxler said.
Health officials have so far administered 43,227 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, out of the 129,675 granted to the state.
State superintendent tests positive for COVID-19
State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman has tested positive for COVID-19, she announced Monday.
Spearman was tested Dec. 31 and notified of the results on Sunday, she said. South Carolina’s top education official was already in quarantine after her husband and son tested positive last week.
“Our family is in good spirits and is fortunate to have only mild symptoms,” Spearman wrote in a tweet.
She plans to continue her work from home, staying in isolation while she recovers.
School district pauses sports
Horry County Schools has paused winter sports and spring athletic training for a couple of weeks.
Winter sports games and practices, including for boys and girls basketball and wrestling, are on hold until Jan. 19.
Horry County has reported a total of 18,647 COVID-19 cases and 277 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Health officials ask for patience on vaccine rollout
South Carolina’s public health agency is urging residents to be patient as the coronavirus vaccine is rolled out across the state.
Traxler said she expects the vaccination pace to pick up.
“At this time, South Carolina, like other states across the nation, does have limited doses of that COVID-19 vaccine,” Traxler said. “We continue to ask everyone to please be patient, wait your turn, and listen to your public health officials. Doing this will allow public health officials to ensure that the most vulnerable in our state and those who are keeping us all alive are vaccinated first.”
South Carolina had received 112,125 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and administered 41,431 doses as of Jan. 1.
The state is in Phase 1 of the vaccine rollout, with the focus on health care workers. Residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care facilities are also part of the initial phase.
Traxler’s news conference came days after Gov. Henry McMaster and some state legislators criticized the slow release of information related to vaccine rollout.
McMaster sent a letter to DHEC on Thursday demanding information on the vaccine distribution plan.
“I ask that the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control immediately make available to the public a complete accounting of the status and location of every COVID-19 vaccine dose that has been received and distributed in the state,” McMaster wrote.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 6:42 AM.
