Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Aug. 9
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases near 100,000
At least 99,713 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina, and 1,949 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Sunday reported an additional 1,011 cases of the virus, down from 1,178 Saturday.
An additional 18 deaths were also reported after 67 were reported the day before — one of the highest counts since the start of the pandemic.
At least 1,378 people in South Carolina were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, with 219 patients on ventilators, according to the DHEC.
The DHEC on Sunday reported 12.9% of tests were positive, down from 16% Saturday — lower than the percentage has been over the last few weeks. About 8.7% of tests come back positive nationally.
Officials warn of asymptomatic cases
State health officials are warning about the rate of coronavirus infections in people who do not show any symptoms, The State reports.
Those with asymptomatic cases likely don’t know they’re carrying the virus.
“Evidence is increasing about the high rates of infection in people who do not have symptoms and don’t know they are infectious,” the DHEC said in a statement. “This places everyone at risk of getting the virus or unknowingly transmitting it to someone else.”
Governor misled public, doctor says
The doctor who has overseen much of the response to COVID-19 in South Carolina says Gov. Henry McMaster’s staff misled the public on her stance on reopening some businesses in the state.
Linda Bell, state epidemiologist, said she regrets not speaking out more forcefully about her agency’s COVID-19 positions, according to internal Department of Health and Environmental Control documents obtained by The State newspaper.
Bell said the governor’s office made it appear that she backed reopening indoor dining at restaurants, as well as barbershops, earlier than the Department of Health and Environmental Control had advised, records show.
She said the governor’s staff members were “somewhat manipulative’’ during meetings about the virus but that she will no longer stand by him “without speaking to what the science tells us is the right thing to do.’’
This story was originally published August 9, 2020 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Aug. 9."
