COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Aug. 23
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 4,000 new COVID-19 cases reported
At least 554,415 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 8,989 have died in South Carolina since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 4,009 new COVID-19 cases and 25 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday.
At least 1,942 people in the state were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Aug. 20, with 497 patients in the ICU.
As of Monday, 14.5% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 5% or lower means there is a low level of community spread.
Just over 46% of South Carolinians eligible to receive the vaccine are fully vaccinated and nearly 55% have received at least one dose, according to health officials.
Horry Co. hospital tightens restrictions as COVID cases surge
A Horry County hospital is bringing back stringent precautions in response to the rapid rise in new coronavirus cases, The Sun News reported.
Conway Medical Center will require all visitors to wear face masks and visitations will be limited in most cases, the hospital announced Monday. Visitors younger than 16 aren’t permitted except in end-of-life situations, and the hospital’s emergency department’s entrance will only be available to patients.
“Truly this is gut-wrenching,” Dr. Paul Richardson, the chief medical officer, told The Sun News earlier this month after the hospital started the process of re-installing triage tents outside for COVID-19 patients. “We do not want to do this, we feel like it is necessary.”
For more on the hospital’s restrictions, read the full story here.
Midlands schools see hundreds of COVID cases after first day of classes
Hundreds of students and staff members in the Midlands have tested positive for COVID-19 less than two weeks after returning to school, The State reported.
Approximately 470 students and 50 staff members across the Lexington 1, Lexington-Richland 5, Kershaw, Orangeburg and Clarendon 2 school districts have contracted coronavirus since the new school year kicked off last week, according to data released by each of the districts.
At Columbia-area schools, more than 600 students and staff are reported to have the virus as well.
Richland 1 and Richland 2 are the only Midland districts with mask mandates, despite a temporary provision barring local government and school districts from imposing mask rules.
COVID cases force Jasper County school to go virtual
Students at Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School in Jasper County returned to online learning this week after a surge in COVID-19 cases among students and staff, according to The Island Packet.
Classes have been in session less than a week, and already two dozen students and faculty members have tested positive for coronavirus. Superintendent Rechel Anderson said the school district is seeing “a proportionately increasing number of test-positive COVID cases” since school re-opened — with more cases reported in the first week than during the entirety of the 2020-21 school year.
“The pause will allow us to establish the true prevalence of infection in the school community, and to complete the contact tracing to identify other potential spreaders in and outside the school environment,” Anderson said.
Elementary and middle school students will continue in-person learning.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 1:00 PM.