COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Jan. 20

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

Cases surpass 362,000

At least 362,451 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina since March, and 5,729 have died, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Wednesday reported 3,567 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,570 reported the day before. Officials have reported over 78,500 cases in January, the most new cases seen in a single month.

Fifty-six additional deaths were reported Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, 24.9% of COVID-19 tests were positive. Health officials have said that number should be closer to 5% to control the spread of the virus.

At least 2,386 were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Wednesday.

As of Monday, South Carolina had received nearly 318,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and had administered 163,800.

Harris Teeter will provide COVID vaccines in its stores

Harris Teeter will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations soon at its stores across the country, but is starting in South Carolina, the chain announced Wednesday.

All 211 Harris Teeter locations will eventually be able to provide vaccinations for free and by appointment — but as of Wednesday, only a limited number of stores, located in the Palmetto State, have doses available.

The grocer will offer vaccinations to those eligible under federal and state guidelines, which currently includes health care workers and individuals 70 years of age or older.

Harris Teeter will be updating its website as vaccines become available at more store locations. Keep track by clicking here.

Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic canceled due to COVID, again

The Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, for the second year in a row, The State reported.

A popular event for outdoors enthusiasts, drawing crowds of up to 40,000 in recent years, the Sportsmen’s Classic was scheduled to take place March 26-28 at the State Fairgrounds. But organizers decided not to hold the event, citing safety concerns.

“The health and well-being of South Carolinians and others traveling to South Carolina’s largest hunting, fishing and outdoor expo remain our top concern,” Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic director Dan DuPre said Wednesday in a news release. “We must take every precaution to protect the thousands of attendees, vendors and volunteers expected to attend the event.”

1,000 Beaufort County students in quarantine

More than 1,000 Beaufort County School District students and 87 staff are in quarantine because of exposure to COVID-19, The Island Packet reported.

District officials said the figures are not cause for concern.

“If you have 1,000 people in quarantine, it sounds dramatic and it sounds scary,” Hilton Head board rep Ingrid Boatright said. “What it tells me is that we’re doing good contact tracing, we’re removing risks from the community, we’re isolating cases, and this is a positive of having kids back in school.”

There were 75 coronavirus cases reported in the district last week, according to Superintendent Frank Rodriguez, and 15 so far this week.

Since Sept. 28, about 3% of the total student and staff population have contracted COVID-19.

McMaster blames hospitals for slow vaccine rollout

Gov. Henry McMaster said South Carolina hospitals are at fault for the slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the state, The Sun News reported.

“We have got to use every single dose of this vaccine that comes into the state and is not being done,” McMaster said, threatening to put an executive order in place for hospitals that aren’t moving fast enough.

McMaster’s comments came a day after the state’s top health official, Dr. Brannon Traxler, said the federal government is not sending enough vaccine doses to meet demand.

Horry County hospitals echoed Traxler’s sentiment.

“At this moment, the only limiting factor is the availability of vaccine from the government,” Tidelands Health said in a news release Saturday. “Like all South Carolina hospitals, we have been told to expect less vaccine — not more — in the coming weeks.”

Man convicted in decades-old murder dies of COVID in prison

Marcellus Pierce, behind bars for his involvement in the 1984 kidnapping and killing of a University of South Carolina nursing student, has died in state prison due to COVID-19 at the age of 73, officials said.

Pierce was one of three men convicted for the rape and murder of Bobbi Rossi and was seen as the mastermind behind the crime.

Many in the Midlands were shaken after the 20-year-old woman from a prominent family was abducted in a parking lot at Columbia’s Woodhill Mall — now the Shoppes at Woodhill. A large-scale search was launched and Rossi’s body was found three days later.

Pierce was the last of the three men to die, The State reported. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this month and died in the infirmary of the Lee Correctional Institution.

Lexington hospital bans visitors due to COVID surge

With coronavirus cases surging, Lexington Medical Center is banning people from visiting patients, The State reported.

There are some exceptions under the ban, which goes into effect Tuesday.

For example, non-COVID patients can have one visitor in the emergency room, as long as it doesn’t reach capacity.

Other exceptions are made for surgeries and births.

Newberry County sheriff hospitalized with COVID

After he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster has been hospitalized due to the virus, The State reported.

“This stuff is no joke. It is for real,” Foster said Tuesday. “I have had a tough go.”

Foster has been in the hospital since last week, where he said he is getting good medical care.

He added that despite his condition, he is keeping close tabs on his office, performing as many duties as he can.

Foster asked people to listen to experts and ignore conspiracies on social media and elsewhere that downplay the pandemic.

“It is just the nonsense that it is not real or that bad, and it revolves around one political view or the other,” Foster said. “It ain’t no politics here. (COVID-19) is very real to me.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 6:51 AM.