21 SC counties need public masking again as COVID cases spike, CDC says. Here’s where it’s worst
South Carolinians across almost half of the state should wear masks in public because of skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, federal and state health officials recommend.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s community levels map as of Monday shows 21 counties with high levels of COVID-19, up from 17 counties a week earlier. This comes as the state has seen a growing surge in new COVID-19 cases over recent months.
The latest map also shows 23 counties with medium levels of COVID-19 and two counties with low levels.
The CDC recommends communities with high levels of COVID-19 wear masks indoors in public and on public transportation. It also recommends staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, getting tested if you have symptoms and, if you are at high risk for severe illness, to take additional precautions.
For communities at medium levels, the CDC recommends people wear masks if they have symptoms, have had a positive test or were recently exposed to someone with COVID-19.
“We are seeing significant increases in COVID-19 cases across our state, and we know there are a lot more cases that aren’t being reported due to the use of nonreportable home tests,” Dr. Brannon Traxler, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control public health director, said in a Monday press release. “Masking remains one of the best ways to limit virus spread and the CDC has a great resource to help determine when to mask in public.”
The latest DHEC statistics show that as of Dec. 31, there were 10,481 new cases of COVID-19 for that week, up 8.5% over the previous week. The department reported 3 COVID-19-related deaths for the week of Dec. 31.
Completed vaccinations were down 46.3% over the previous week, the DHEC reports.
“Fortunately, we have not seen a significant uptick in severe cases, meaning those that end in hospitalizations and deaths,” Traxler said. “We want that trend to continue and masking when recommended is an effective way to keep each other out of the hospital and eventually bring case numbers down.”
Besides masking, staying up to date on vaccinations and boosters, as well as testing when recommended, are important steps in preventing COVID-19 spread, the DHEC states.
Here are the 21 counties with high COVID-19 levels, according to the CDC.
- Cherokee
- Chester
- Chesterfield
- Colleton
- Dorchester
- Fairfield
- Georgetown
- Greenville
- Horry
- Kershaw
- Laurens
- Lee
- Lexington
- Marlboro
- Newberry
- Pickens
- Richland
- Spartanburg
- Sumter
- Union
- Williamsburg
The 23 counties with medium levels of COVID are:
- Abbeville
- Allendale
- Anderson
- Bamberg
- Beaufort
- Berkeley
- Calhoun
- Charleston
- Clarendon
- Darlington
- Dillon
- Edgefield
- Florence
- Greenwood
- Hampton
- Jasper
- Lancaster
- Marion
- McCormick
- Oconee
- Orangeburg
- Saluda
- York
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 10:11 AM.
