Every day, The Greenville News writes a new live story with the latest COVID-19 news relevant to our communities in the state. This is our COVID-19 news summary for Wednesday, October 14, 2020. We will update this story only until the end of today; Look for a new summary story every morning at GreenvilleNews.com.
Interactive map: An analysis of South Carolina’s COVID-19 cases by county and postal code
DHEC Announces Wednesday Numbers
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced on Wednesday 700 new confirmed cases and 81 new probable cases of the new COVID-19 coronavirus and 17 additional confirmed deaths. There was 1 new probable death reported.
The total number of confirmed cases has already reached 153,729. The confirmed death toll is 3,387.
The total number of individual test results reported to DHEC Tuesday across the state was 6,310 and the positive percentage was 11.1%.
- Spartanburg County reported 43 new cases on Wednesday and now has a total of 7,716 confirmed cases and 210 deaths.
- Cherokee County did not file any new cases on Wednesday and now has 1,304 confirmed cases and 32 deaths.
- Union County reported 3 new cases on Tuesday and now has 664 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.
Greenville County schools to receive first shipment of acrylic shields on Wednesday
On Wednesday, at 10 am, Greenville County Schools will receive their first shipments of acrylic shields.
These shields, provided by the state Department of Education at a cost of more than $ 5 million, will allow all elementary school students to return to face-to-face education full-time by November 9.
More about the shields:Some children will go to school 5 days a week in Greenville County under the new plan
Positive, but not necessarily sick
Although university officials approve of transparency in their COVID-19 operations, there is no way to say how many students positive for coronavirus fell ill because the university does not release data on how many students are symptomatic.
“It’s not how the data is collected,” said University spokesman Joe Galbraith. “For example, we don’t know whether an individual who carries a test result went to his health care provider with symptoms or for a different reason.”
But, Clemson did not report hospitalizations or student deaths due to COVID-19, Galbraith confirmed, and the university’s chief epidemiologist, Corey Kalbaugh, said the majority of students are asymptomatic.
Read the full story here
DHEC’s top doctor shares what SC families need to know this fall
As South Carolina families continue to live lives shaped by the coronavirus pandemic, this is the time for residents to be as vigilant as ever – or to start taking the virus seriously, if they haven’t already – according to one of state leaders responding to COVID-19.
Dr. Brannon Traxler, acting director of public health for the state and a native of Greenville, recently spoke at length about the virus in an interview with The Greenville News.
Listen to what she said here
The most recent on Wednesday
Some of the biggest news this month about the virus:
► COVID-19 hospitalizations in SC have decreased, but will this trend last?
► While COVID-19 reduces hotel profits in downtown Greenville, the urgency for a conference center gains momentum
► Supreme Court of SC: proposal by the governor of money of the CARES Act for unconstitutional private schools
► With PPP exhausted and winter approaching, restaurants remain one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic
Have you heard of an update that is not in this file? Email [email protected]