note: The coronavirus outbreak is a rapidly developing event and this story contains information that has only been updated through October 4, 2020. Some of the information here may have changed due to the nature of the pandemic; updates are reflected in more current stories. For news about the coronavirus outbreak and its impact in South Carolina, visit greenvillenews.com, independentmail.com. or goupstate.com.
Map of coronavirus SC: An analysis of COVID-19 cases by county and postal code
DHEC announces Sunday numbers
DHEC announced on Sunday 619 new confirmed cases and 20 new probable cases of COVID-19 and 12 additional confirmed deaths. No new probable deaths have been reported.
The total number of confirmed cases has already reached 146,576 and confirmed deaths are 3,255.
The total number of individual test results reported to DHEC Saturday across the state was 5,228 (not including antibody tests) and the positive percentage was 11.8%.
DHEC Announces 32.6% Positive on Friday Test Results
The number of test results reported yesterday to the State Department of Health and Environmental Control was 1,991, not including antibody tests, and the positive percentage was 32.6%.
The high positive percentage is a result of delays in electronic laboratory reports that DHEC is processing, according to a press release. A detailed analysis of the test results delayed per day during the affected time period, 24 September to October. 2, is being compiled, DHEC said in a statement on Saturday.
On Friday, DHEC announced that 23,902 results of the COVID-19 test from September 24 to October 2 were added to its records. The delay was attributed to a technical update and affected the DHEC online panel while results were reported to healthcare professionals and patients, as usual, according to DHEC.
On Saturday, DHEC announced 649 new confirmed cases and 31 additional confirmed deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 145,953 and confirmed deaths to 3,243.
Clemson sees 360 new cases in five days, almost 500 quarantined
Clemson University has announced 360 new cases of the coronavirus since Sunday, September 27, according to its data panel.
The positive percentage rate was 6.4%, which is higher than in the previous two weeks of testing, according to the panel.
In a Friday afternoon email to students and staff, Pres. James Clements said the growing number of cases did not surprise the authorities.
“Still, as expected, we saw an increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19 among our students with their homecoming on campus two weeks ago.”
Medical center locations – which test mostly symptomatic patients or people exposed to the virus – had a positive rate of 50%, according to the panel.
As of Thursday, 480 Clemson students are in the campus quarantine facility. Clemson does not release its quarantine capability, officials have repeatedly told The Greenville News and Independent Mail.
“So far, however, the increase has been manageable and we continue to have sufficient quarantine and isolation space,” says Clements’ email.
Since June, more than 3,000 students have had the coronavirus, which represents 7.6% of the student body, according to enrollment data.
The university has made no announcement about the teaching method – which is a hybrid of classroom and online classes – or changes in the autumn sports seasons since the beginning of the semester in mid-August.
President Trump tests positive for COVID-19
President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, an amazing event that happened hours after he confirmed that one of his senior advisers, with whom he had recently traveled, also received a positive test result.
The revelation had implications for the president’s health, the government’s response to the pandemic and also the November 3 election, during which Trump called on states to reopen and said the country is “around the corner” against the virus.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Trump tweeted on Friday morning. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get over this TOGETHER!”
Full story here
Local reactions: South Carolina politicians and leaders react to news of President’s positive COVID test
Here’s what to know Friday
- DHEC announced on Friday 256 new confirmed cases and 67 new probable cases of the new coronavirus COVID-19, 12 additional confirmed deaths and a new probable death.
- South Carolina health officials initially approved a classroom prototype presented by Greenville County Schools that would allow the school district to accommodate more students in a classroom.
- South Carolina’s restaurants will soon be able to operate at full capacity within their cafeterias, Governor Henry McMaster said on Thursday.
- There are so many hotel rooms in downtown Greenville that, for years, anyone who has invested in them has feared that one day the city’s hotel landscape might implode, a victim of its own explosive growth.
- Students are now in class two days a week at Greenville County Schools with plans to bring pre-school to first graders full-time in the coming weeks, but instead of dealing with e-Learning or changing frequency plans, parents are choosing to leave their children out of kindergarten.