Richland County officials have a plan for the coronavirus. You just can’t see it yet
Richland County officials invited the media to attend a public meeting Tuesday where they promised to share information about their planned response for the potential local impact of the coronavirus.
But during the largest health scare in at least a decade — with more than 100,000 affected worldwide — county officials instead refused to share exactly what their plan is.
It’s unclear what the plan means for county residents — or even why officials invited reporters to a meeting to discuss a plan they wanted to keep secret.
County Administrator Leonardo Brown distributed a copy of the preliminary phased approach to council members and discussed limiting travel for county employees, possibly preventing public gatherings and sharing what could happen if a state of emergency is declared locally.
Brown did reveal that the plan calls for five phases, and the county is already at phase three. Phase five could be reached by this weekend, he said.
When the The State Media Co. asked for a copy of his plan, a reporter was told to file a public records request. Shortly after, the media company was told the plan isn’t available for public eyes, despite the information being distributed at a public meeting to multiple elected officials.
“Those things could change based on some of the things that we’re hearing from the CDC and DHEC,” said Brown, referring to the federal Centers for Disease Control and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Brown added the plan includes steps people should begin taking.
“It’s not 100% because those things are based on the guidance of CDC,” he said. “They may come back and say, ‘We’ve found this out now.’”
South Carolina has logged nine coronavirus cases, two of which have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest two cases were announced Tuesday by the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, roughly 30 minutes after the county refused to share its plan to address the outbreak.
Seven of the nine cases — including the two announced Tuesday — are in neighboring Kershaw County. At least one of the patients is being treated at Prisma Health Richland hospital in Richland County.
Brown said the plan is currently in phase three, meaning COVID-19 has reached a neighboring county. He said some county employees who chose to travel to areas known to have coronavirus cases could be told not to return to work for roughly two weeks.
Councilman Joe Walker, who reviewed the plan, said phase five offers an “extremely heightened” precaution to the coronavirus outbreak. He said the county has taken a proactive response, and Walker understands Brown’s reservation to release the plan, but also believes the public should show its full details.
“I would strongly submit that the public needs to know what each level of preparedness means to them because it could impact not only their day-to-day ... but the county’s abilities to keep them safe.”
Walker also said the county’s plan went from “phase one” to “phase three” within the previous 24 hours.
Brown said the plan will be released to the public once it’s finalized, though parts of it are already in effect. The county council has scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday at 4 p.m., and the only item on the agenda is a coronavirus update. The meeting will be held at the county’s administration building, 2020 Hampton St. in Columbia.
During Tuesday’s meeting, council members also asked questions of Rebecca Whisenhunt, a regional epidemiology program manager for DHEC.
Whisenhunt said no tests are being administered at local health departments, and she suggested people who are feeling ill seek care from their physicians in the event they have another issue that isn’t the coronavirus.
“That would be doing a disservice to them and their personal health to assume coronavirus without proper evaluation,” Whisenhunt said.
She said she’s unaware of how many coronavirus tests have been administered in Richland County and said it’s important that anyone experiencing symptoms stay home and away from others.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 7:04 PM.