Here is how many COVID-19 cases are in SC K-12 schools as of Sept. 8

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has released the latest coronavirus case numbers for K-12 schools throughout the state.

There are 233 total COVID 19 cases in S.C. schools, 138 of which are students and the remaining 95 are teachers, according to DHEC data published Tuesday.

That’s up from Friday, when there were 158 total COVID 19 cases, 89 of which were students and 69 of which were school employees.

Those numbers include public, private and charter schools throughout the state. Just because a school has a student or employee test positive does not mean they were infected with coronavirus while at school.

The majority of schools still do not have any positive tests. In schools where fewer than five students or teachers have tested positive for coronavirus, a specific case number is not listed; rather, the DHEC data just says “< 5.”

Schools that have yet to begin in-person classes also have seen positive cases. There are a couple possible reasons for this. One is that many teachers who are doing virtual instruction are teaching from their classrooms. Another is students involved in extracurricular activities, such as football, cheerleading, etc., who test positive for coronavirus, are included in DHEC’s database, even if face to face classes have not yet resumed, spokeswoman Laura Renwick said in an email.

DHEC updates these data every Tuesday and Friday.

This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 4:19 PM.