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Kirk Brown
| Greenville News
Governor Henry McMaster tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of December 21, days after South Carolina’s first lady, Peggy McMaster, tested positive.
The 73-year-old governor has mild symptoms, such as coughing and mild tiredness, his office said in a press release sent by e-mail Tuesday afternoon.
“Peggy and I ask everyone to be extremely careful during the Christmas holiday season,” said McMaster in the statement. “This virus spreads very easily.”
The governor will isolate for 10 days and monitor for additional symptoms, and McMaster will receive treatment with monoclonal antibodies on Tuesday, officials said. Outpatient treatment is a preventive measure for those with mild to moderate symptoms. It is the same treatment that President Donald Trump, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani received when they were treated for COVID-19.
The governor’s office said treatment was readily available to the general public on the order of a doctor, but only a fraction of those doses reached the people who could benefit from them, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Monday. Scientific, political, logistical and personnel reasons were of limited scope, USA Today reported.
More: Health experts in the interior of the state warn that post-Natal increase in COVID may overburden hospitals
The governor placed himself in quarantine when he learned he was in close contact with the virus, officials said, and sent his residency team to quarantine and have him checked for health and safety. McMaster hasn’t been to his Statehouse office since Thursday, according to his spokesman, Brian Symmes.
Based on the timing of the symptoms and the positive test, Symmes said, McMaster would probably not infect others before Saturday.
According to Tuesday’s statement, doctors at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control say there is no way to accurately determine when or how McMaster or his wife contracted the virus.
McMaster’s diagnosis came after he was criticized when a photo of him in a Taylors church without a mask on December 13 was posted on his Facebook page. McMaster had presented former State Senator Mike Fair, 74, with the Order of Palmetto, the state’s largest civilian tribute, at the Baptist Church of Faith.
Telephone messages and e-mails to Pastor John Monroe of Faith Baptist Church were not returned on Tuesday. Calls to the Fair were not answered on Tuesday.
Symmes said McMaster uses facial coverings when appropriate.
“He takes it to talk about a podium or to take pictures for a very, very short time – certainly nothing that would be classified by the public health authorities as a close contact, who is less than two meters from each other for more than 15 minutes. once.”
Greenville County has produced a disproportionate share of the state’s coronavirus cases in recent weeks.
Henry and Peggy McMaster, who is also 73, tested negative for COVID-19 on December 14, before attending a Christmas event at the White House, and they tested negative on December 10, before meeting with the vice president. President Mike Pence, officials said. Peggy McMaster ended up testing positive on December 17.
McMaster is the fourth oldest governor in the country. He is in a 71- to 80-year age group that accounts for only 6.5% of COVID-19 cases in South Carolina, while it accounts for 30.3% of deaths.
Some turned to social media to wish McMasters good luck, including US Senator Lindsey Graham.
In addition to attending church in Taylors and the Christmas reception at the White House, McMaster’s public program for last week included several other events:
► On Tuesday, he visited Horizon Scientific’s Summerville facility. He also spoke to the South Carolina Republican Party executive committee and attended a holiday reception.
► On Wednesday, McMaster attended the signing of a ceremonial bill at a shooting range in Spartanburg and met with members of the General Assembly.
► On Thursday, McMaster held another ceremonial law signing at the Statehouse, visited the Office of Revenue and Tax Affairs, oversaw a meeting of the State Fiscal Responsibility Authority and met with members of the General Assembly.
As the governor followed the guidelines and recommendations as a “close contact”, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control determined that there are no “close contacts” with the governor that warrant special consideration, officials said.
Come back to learn more about this development story.