Prisma Health to require masks amid SC measles outbreak. What to know in Midlands
Prisma Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in South Carolina, will begin requiring all visitors to its hospitals to wear a face mask, as the number of measles cases statewide nears 1,000. The new mask rules begin Thursday and will be in effect statewide.
Visitors will be required to wear a mask until they have completed a health screening after arriving at the hospital.
South Carolina is experiencing the largest measles outbreak nationwide since the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 after no cases were reported for a full year. “This was thanks to a highly effective vaccination program in the United States,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes on its website. Despite the designation, the U.S. still sees dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of measles cases each year.
But in South Carolina, cases have ticked upwards rapidly since the Department of Public Health confirmed the first case in October, climbing to 876 cases statewide as of Tuesday. Almost all of those cases (841) are in Spartanburg County. But recently the state agency also confirmed a case in Sumter County.
“This is an ongoing, evolving situation,” said Dr. Robin LaCroix, a pediatric infectious disease expert with Prisma, noting that cases have fluctuated but the risk for further spread remains high.
Measles is highly contagious among the unvaccinated. The initial illness can cause a high fever, cough, runny nose and dry eyes, but it can also cause complications like pneumonia and encephalitis or swelling of the brain.
Measles in the Midlands
There have been no confirmed cases of the measles in Richland or Lexington counties as of Feb. 3, but there has been at least one confirmed case in Sumter County.
“At this point in the investigation, it is not yet clear whether this new case is linked to the Upstate outbreak centered around Spartanburg County or if the case may have been exposed where measles is occurring in other locations,” the department of public health noted in a statement Tuesday.
Three Sumter businesses have been identified as possible exposure sites:
- Mariachis Mexican Restaurant at 1072 Broad Street, Sumter S.C. on Friday, Jan. 23 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Food Lion at 5700 Broad Street Ext., Sumter, S.C. on Saturday, Jan. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Walmart Neighborhood Market at 343 Pinewood Road, Sumter, S.C. on Sunday, Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Anyone who visited these businesses during those times and who is unvaccinated for the measles should watch for symptoms through Feb. 13-15.
Cases rise as vaccinations dip across SC
Students across South Carolina are generally less vaccinated than they were at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the Midlands where the proportion of religious vaccine exemptions at public schools has doubled since 2021.
Vaccination rates at South Carolina schools have fallen from 95.6% in the 2021-22 school year, to 93.7% today. In the Midlands, about 94% of the student body is fully vaccinated for a slate of required immunizations, according to state data. But the number of students receiving exemptions to those requirements is growing.
More than 8,000 students representing over 3% of students in the Midlands currently have a religious exemption for vaccine requirements — that’s up from 1.6% or just under 4,000 students in the 2021-22 school year.
Medical vaccination exemptions for students in South Carolina have also gone up, most significantly in the Upstate and the Lowcountry. But for the Midlands, that figure has remained relatively steady, around .1% of students.
Who can get vaccinated, and where
The measles vaccine, called the MMR or measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, is typically given to infants at 1-year-old, and then a booster is given around the 4-year mark, explained Dr. Anna-Kathryn Burch with Prisma Health.
But unvaccinated adults and children can still be vaccinated after that time. Younger children can also receive their booster shot sooner than the 4-year mark during an active outbreak.
A new vaccination, even up to 72 hours after a person is exposed to the virus, can still help prevent illness, South Carolina epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell previously said.
The MMR vaccine is widely available at pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, at doctor’s offices and directly from the South Carolina Department of Public Health.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 4:35 PM.
