Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Jan. 8

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

Nearly 5,000 new cases, a record high

At least 315,353 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina since March, and 5,217 have died, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday reported 4,986 new COVID-19 cases, up from 3,935 reported the day before. Friday’s case count is the highest ever reported in the state, shattering the previous record of 4,370 set on Christmas Day.

Twenty-eight new deaths were reported Friday.

As of Friday, 31.8% of COVID-19 tests in the state were positive, compared to an all-time high of 34.2% recorded the day before. Health officials have said the number should be closer to 5%.

Friday, 2,396 people in South Carolina were hospitalized with the coronavirus, the first time in five days hospitalizations haven’t climbed to new, record-setting levels.

Three SC cities among worst COVID hotspots in the nation

Three communities in South Carolina are among the cities hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic in the entire country, according to a new report from the White House COVID-19 Task Force, The State reported.

Greenville saw the most COVID-19 infections of any mid-size city in the US — 7,242 — during a seven day span from Dec. 31 to Jan. 6.

Spartanburg ranked 9th out of the 10 worst hit mid-size cities, contributing 2,155 new coronavirus cases during the seven day period.

Of the smaller cities — those with populations between 50,000 to 250,000 — Florence placed 5th with 1,669 new cases.

COVID cases slowing in schools, DHEC data says, but some districts say otherwise

Data from the state health department shows that coronavirus cases are falling among students and staff at K-12 schools, but somedistrictshave their own data that disagrees, the Rock Hill Herald reported.

Friday, 58 new cases were reported in schools statewide.

However, Chester County schools report nearly three times that number, by their count, and Rock Hill schools saw more than 130 cases this week.

For a more in-depth breakdown, read the full story here.

Elderly hospital patients to get COVID vaccine

Hospitals should begin offering the coronavirus vaccine to inpatients 65 and older who don’t have COVID-19, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a statement Friday, The State reported.

The announcement comes a day after executives of several major South Carolina hospitals asked DHEC to allow them to vaccinate certain groups who are not eligible under the first phase of the vaccine rollout.

By broadening eligibility, DHEC hopes to speed up vaccine distribution, which has been criticized as sluggish by Gov. Henry McMaster and others.

“It is within our state’s best interest to allow hospitals to begin vaccinating their admitted patients who are aged 65 years and older,” said Brannon Traxler, DHEC’s interim health director. “By moving up these patients who are currently admitted in our hospitals we are ensuring that the most vulnerable among us are being vaccinated as quickly as possible.”

$25 million COVID relief program to help pay for housing

Help is coming for South Carolinians struggling to pay for housing due to economic strain caused by the the coronavirus pandemic, The State reported.

A $25 million relief program is launching next month that will provide mortgage or rental assistance to eligible applicants making 80% or less of the median income, for up to six months.

The program is being handled by SC Housing, the state’s finance and development agency.

Residents will be able to apply starting early February, the same time that the nationwide eviction moratorium is coming to an end.

More specifics on eligibility requirements will be announced as launch day nears, but residents can sign up on SC Housing’s website to be emailed “as soon as the application is open,” an agency spokesman said.

Red tape is slowing vaccine roll-out, hospitals say

Vaccine roll-out is moving too slowly, the leaders of several South Carolina hospitals told state health officials during a monthly DHEC board meeting.

Executives with Prisma Health, the Medical University of South Carolina, Tidelands Health and Lexington Medical are asking DHEC to allow them to inoculate people who want the COVID-19 vaccine but are not eligible under the current phase of distribution, The State reported.

Some individuals who are already eligible aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity, said Patrick Cawley, vice president for health affairs at MUSC.

Under DHEC’s current plans, people in the second-highest vaccination category won’t get shots until later this winter. Hospital leaders said they could start helping those people, particularly the elderly, sooner.

“The last thing I want to do is have vaccines building up at MUSC,’’ Cawley told the board. “If all of a sudden I can’t get people to (sign) up, we should move on to the next group. You let hospitals and health systems make that decision, I think you will fulfill the original principle of getting more shots done quickly.’’

McMaster to ask lawmakers for $123 million to support small businesses

Gov. Henry McMaster plans to ask the South Carolina legislature to spend $123 million on small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, The State reported.

If approved, the funds would go to the state’s Department of Commerce, which would launch a small business relief grant program. Qualifying businesses must be located in South Carolina, employ 25 or fewer workers, be able to prove COVID had a direct impact on their business, and have been in operation since at least Sept. 13, 2019.

“The governor thinks they’re the lifeblood of the economy,” McMaster’s spokesman Brian Symmes said. “By no fault of their own, small businesses around the country, including right here in South Carolina, are in peril after dedicating sometimes lifetimes worth of work. In some cases, generations of families who have put their blood, sweat and tears into restaurants (and) businesses.”

McMaster has some other big investments in mind, too, including $30 million for expanding broadband internet access.

The governor is also expected to ask lawmakers to set aside $500 million in reserve, for use in case of further economic impacts from the coronavirus.

New COVID variant is spreading, but will it come to SC?

A more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has been spreading across the world has been found in Georgia, but so far there’s no sign of it in South Carolina, The State reported.

However, it’s likely to arrive in the Palmetto State eventually, said Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease doctor and assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The best way to prevent the new variant from spreading? Follow the advice health officials have been sharing since March.

“With increased transmission, it allows for the potential to change the trajectory of the virus. And by that I mean, with increased transmission that can potentially allow for more cases, more hospitalizations, more fatalities,” Kuppalli said. “And so we have the power to help prevent that by adhering to these public health measures.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 7:02 AM.