Charleston County’s main library on Calhoun Street will be temporarily closed while a contractor sanitizes the building. A staff member there tested positive for COVID-19, according to the library system, so other employees who have been in contact with them are quarantined.
Library staff expect the building and the book return to reopen on Saturday, spokesman Doug Reynolds said.
The closure comes when another 2,023 people tested positive for the new coronavirus and nearly 40 others died in the state of Palmetto.
While the Charleston County Public Library still offers sidewalk services, four locations are open for users to print materials and browse the shelves. One, the Wando Mount Pleasant Library, closed for sanitation last week after two staff members tested positive.
State figures
New cases reported: 2,023, which is 1,180 percent higher than the 158 registered on March 31, the day Governor Henry McMaster ordered the closing of non-essential deals.
Total cases in SC: 243,583, plus 19,191 probable cases
New deaths reported: 39
Total deaths in SC: 4,484 confirmed, 359 probable
Total tests in SC: 3,207,401
Hospitalized patients: 1,524
Percentage of positive tests, average of seven days: 21.1 percent. Five percent or less of the tests with positive results is a good sign that the spread of the virus is slowing, say the researchers.
Most affected areas
South Carolina’s top counties for new coronavirus cases reported on Thursday were Greenville, 306; Lexington, 157; and Richland, 154.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 55 new cases; Berkeley, 41; and Dorchester, 61.
Deaths
Nine of the 39 deaths reported on Thursday were patients aged 35 to 64, and the rest were 65 or older.
They lived in Anderson, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Greenwood, Horry, Lancaster, Lexington, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg and York counties.
Hospitalizations
Of the 1,524 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday, 333 were in intensive care and 113 were on ventilators.
What do the experts say?
The authorities continue to urge Southern Carolinians to take precautions such as wearing masks or other facial coverings, social detachment and frequent hand washing.
They also recommend that anyone who believes they have been exposed to the virus or who are developing symptoms get tested. Those who live in the community or cannot distance themselves socially should be tested monthly, DHEC advised.
Go to scdhec.gov/findatest to find a test site in your area.
Talk to Sara Coello at 843-937-5705 and follow her on Twitter @smlcoello.