South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC)) officials are investigating two additional presumptive positive coronavirus cases, both of which are in the small town of Camden, South Carolina.
That brings South Carolina’s total to seven presumptive positive COVID-19 cases and two confirmed cases – with most of those cases out of Camden, South Carolina.
SCDHEC officials have tested a total of 41 people for COVID-19, with 32 people who tested negative. They are waiting for confirmation on the seven presumptive positive cases that were tested at SCDHEC’s public lab to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which can take up to 48 hours.
The latest cases are “household contacts who tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 and are currently hospitalized” from Camden.
Here are the nine coronavirus cases confirmed by SCDEC since Friday:
- A woman in her 20s from Charleston County traveled to France and Italy over a week ago. She was never hospitalized and isolated herself at home. She did fly through the Charleston Airport. She only experienced mild symptoms.
- A woman in her 80s from Kershaw County who hadn’t recently traveled abroad. She appears to be linked to several other cases. She was hospitalized in the Midlands.
- A woman who was “hospitalized for reasons unrelated to (coronavirus). She had direct contact with the elderly Kershaw County/ Camden woman.
- An elderly man was temporarily admitted to a hospital, then discharged. He is also linked to the elderly Camden woman.
- A woman from Camden with no known connection to the other cases. She was not hospitalized.
- A Spartanburg County man with no known connection to the other cases, but traveled from Italy.
- A Camden man who was not hospitalize and is a direct contact with another case.
- DHEC gave little input on the two latest cases. Just that they were household contacts of a person or persons who tested positive in Camden.
All of those individuals were in isolation after testing positive. No deaths from the virus have been reported in South Carolina.
With a total of six presumptive positive cases and one confirmed case in Camden County, officials addressed concerns for community spread in the town with a population of just over 7,000.
“We understand residents will have concerns about this indication of community spread, however, I urge the public to remain calm and follow recommendations to prevent the spread of illness. Public health events like this one are not new to South Carolina,” Linda Bell, State Epidemiologist. said. “We have trained, prepared, and put systems in place to ensure that we are prepared and ready to respond to this and other events.”
SCDHEC recommended residents to be precautious while going about their daily routines “by practicing good hygiene, washing your hands, covering your cough.”
Free virtual care
MUSC and Prisma are offering free virtual care for all South Carolinians experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
Visit MUSC.care and use the promo code COVID19 for instructions on how to access a medical professional through your phone or computer without having to go to the doctor’s office.
To access Prisma Health’s online care, click here and enter the promo code COVID19.
SCDHEC urged South Carolinians with general questions about coronavirus to visit scdhec.gov/COVID19 or the CDC website here. The agency has also established a coronavirus call line at 1-855-472-3432.
Residents concerned about their own personal health — or who are showing symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath — are being urged to call their personal doctor or health care provider.
What you can do
Because Coronavirus is spread mostly by human contact, hand washing is one of the best preventative measures you can take.
“Thorough hand washing (for at least 20 seconds at a time) helps prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19,” Prisma Health experts said. If hand washing isn’t possible, use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol content.
Other preventative actions according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC):
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with
unwashed hands.
The virus is spread “mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes,” according to the CDC. Symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
Though there is no vaccination or treatment for coronavirus, data from China shows that 81 percent of the cases were mild and didn’t require hospitalization.