Team reports | State health officials this week announced a change in the way they calculate the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests.
Ten months after the start of the pandemic, officials said the reformed calculation puts the state in line with others and is a better measure of spread. But the resulting slightly lower positivity rates should not be used as indicators that COVID-19 represents a lower risk in the state.
On Thursday, using the new calculation method, the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 1,649 new confirmed cases from 23,653 individual tests, making 10.1 percent of the tests positive. Last week, rates were reported at more than 20 percent.
“It is important for people to understand that, although the positive percentage appears as a lower number in the new way of calculating the rate, COVID-19 continues to spread at high levels in our state. This lower number is based solely on the change in the way we calculate the rate, ”said state epidemiologist, Dr. Linda Bell, in a statement on Tuesday. Learn more about the recalculation method.
In related news, Governor Henry McMaster and the state Senate are discussing whether to give priority to the elderly or teachers to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. The governor said he could veto an attempt by the Senate to direct the shots at teachers. More. DHEC said on Wednesday that South Carolina residents who meet the age requirement of at least 65, regardless of health status or pre-existing conditions, can schedule appointments starting monday.
In other recent news:
The Senate confirms Simmer as the new director of DHEC. The South Carolina Senate confirmed Dr. Edward Simmer, a retired military doctor, on Thursday to be the new director of the state’s health and environment agency. More: AP News
A large port business has limits. State lawmakers agreed to submit a proposed settlement to lend $ 550 million for infrastructure improvements at the Port of Charleston to the Senate for consideration, but only after adding a series of financial controls. More: The Post and Courier
The ban on abortion is heard in House. About 50 South Carolina residents testified in person and online on Wednesday at a House subcommittee hearing on what was probably the last chance for people to talk about the Senate’s recently banned abortion proposal. More: AP News
A $ 300 million lawsuit alleges voyeurism in Bishop England. A $ 300 million lawsuit filed by former state senator Larry Richter against Bishop England High School and the Catholic Diocese of Charleston seeks tuition reimbursement and compensation for all children who may have been seen through a window peeking in the students’ locker rooms . More: Charleston city newspaper.