Two Midlands high school students in isolation after potential exposure to coronavirus
Two Midlands teenagers are in isolation after potentially being exposed to the coronavirus.
The high school students were working as interns at an emergency room when the hospital treated a woman in her 80s who is presumed to have COVID-19, the Kershaw County School District said Sunday in a news release.
The students at North Central and Camden high schools were in the emergency room at KershawHealth, but did not have “direct contact” with the woman, according to the release.
As a precaution, the school district said it asked the families involved to “self-isolate” for the next week. This is the same procedure followed by KershawHealth employees, according to the release.
This is also a part of the school district’s prevention plan of social distancing in response to coronavirus.
The school district said it also completed a “thorough cleaning with Lysol, Clorox, and alcohol mixtures in all of our facilities.”
On Sunday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said there are four more presumed coronavirus cases in the state, but neither of the students was listed in that report.
That brings the total of COVID19 cases to six in South Carolina, and four are from Kershaw County.
DHEC alerted the public Friday night that tests on two South Carolina women had resulted in presumed positives. If confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control, the tests would represent the first cases of the virus in South Carolina. The two cases were not linked, DHEC epidemiologist Linda Bell said.
On Sunday, DHEC announced four more presumed positive tests in South Carolina.
One of the first two is a Kershaw County woman in her 80s who is hospitalized at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, officials said in a news release. The hospital is off Harden Street near I-277.
“The patient is in a special isolation room that helps keep our team members and the community safe,” the hospital’s statement said. “Because of our expertise, Prisma Health routinely treats patients with potentially infectious diseases and follows extensive protocols to ensure the safety of our patients, team members, community and visitors.”
Authorities are unsure how the woman caught the virus. She had not traveled recently, a DHEC official said. Authorities are trying to figure out everyone she came in contact with.
The woman first saw symptoms on Feb. 27 and was given the coronavirus test on Thursday, March 5, officials said.
DHEC also announced Friday night that another woman in Charleston, who’s in her 30s, is also presumed to have contracted the virus. She was recently in Italy and France and flew back to South Carolina through Charleston, a DHEC official said. MUSC said the woman is affiliated with the university.
Officials described her case as mild, adding that she did not require hospitalization.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an infection of the respiratory system similar to the flu. Coronaviruses are a class of viruses that regularly cause illnesses among adults and children, but this outbreak has spawned a new disease called COVID-19, a particularly harsh respiratory condition that can lead to death.
Health officials believe COVID-19 spread from animals to humans somewhere in China. It spreads among humans by physical person-to-person contact, including via coughs. That’s why health officials urge sick individuals to avoid contact with other people.
For more information, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms are similar to the flu and include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
How can I stop the spread of the coronavirus?
Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, and cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
If you develop symptoms similar to the coronavirus, you should seek medical attention. Stay home from work or school and avoid contact with others. It can take up to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus to develop symptoms.
COVID-19 is a new condition and there’s much about the disease we still don’t understand. For now, taking precautions is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced that MUSC is opening up a telemedicine program that South Carolina residences can visit online to talk about any flu-like symptoms so that state health officials can know about any cases of coronavirus quickly. The service is free to South Carolinians and can be accessed at musc.care. Click on the COVID19 link at the top. The password for South Carolina residents is covid19.
McMaster urged residents to remain calm, saying state authorities have been planning for a potential coronavirus diagnosis in South Carolina.
As of Sunday, 109,829 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 3,802 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the United States, 534 people have been diagnosed with the novel virus. Twenty-one deaths have been reported, including 17 in King County, Washington, according to Johns Hopkins University and NBC News.
Symptoms of coronavirus vary from mild to severe and include coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath, according to the CDC.
The best way to prevent infection is to wash hands for 20 seconds; avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth; avoid contact with sick people and clean frequently touched objects with a cleaning spray or wipe, according to the CDC.
The U.S. Surgeon General has urged members of the public to avoid buying masks because they are ineffective at preventing coronavirus, and buying them saps vital resources for health officials who need them.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published March 8, 2020 at 4:29 PM.
