SC Gov. McMaster out of isolation 10 days after COVID-19 diagnosis
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has finished his 10-day isolation as of Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19 Christmas week.
Brian Symmes, the governor’s spokesman, said Wednesday that McMaster is “feeling well” and has shown no other symptoms beyond the cough and slight fatigue the governor’s office reported him having a week ago when he tested positive.
McMaster learned of his diagnosis last Monday after he took a routine COVID-19 test earlier that day. His wife, First Lady Peggy McMaster, had tested positive for COVID-19 the Friday before. Peggy, who had remained asymptomatic, has since completed her 10-day isolation period, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the governor’s case, McMaster experienced mild symptoms and received a Monoclonal antibody treatment, based on advice from his personal doctor. McMaster is 73, which puts him at a higher risk for COVID-19 symptoms. People in their early 70s are five times higher to be hospitalized with the virus, says the CDC.
Symmes said the governor, who was treated at an outpatient hospital facility, received only one treatment.
Where the governor and the first lady contracted the disease was never clear.
In the announcement confirming his diagnosis last week, the governor’s office said the state’s health agency said there was no way to pinpoint the exact location. However, the governor had made a number of public trips prior to his diagnosis, including to a White House Christmas party with Peggy on Dec. 14 and a Sunday church service in Taylors, where he was pictured without a mask.
South Carolina’s health leaders are continuing to scramble to get the state’s COVID-19 spread under control.
To date, more than 280,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for the virus, and more than 4,800 have died.
More than 2,000 South Carolinians were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday.
Health leaders have called on individuals to take safety protocols — hand washing, wearing masks and social distancing — more seriously after COVID-19 cases surged following the Thanksgiving holiday. And officials remain concerned of further spread after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
The state is still under an emergency COVID-19 order, which was extended by the governor on Christmas Eve.
