By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | Weeks into the resumption of in-person classes in public schools across the state, fewer than one in 20 coronavirus cases in South Carolina is tied to students or staff.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control began reporting positive COVID-19 cases in K-12 schools on Sept. 4. Since that time, there have been 1,956 positive cases among K-12 (public and private) students and staff who attended school face to face during their infectious period, according to the latest data released Oct. 26.
From Sept. 4 to Oct. 28, DHEC has reported 45,411 positive cases among all South Carolinians. This means that positive cases among K-12 students who attended school and staff account for 4.3 percent of the state’s confirmed cases.
“The South Carolina Department of Education has worked with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to ensure that schools and districts have the most up-to-date guidance and data surrounding COVID-19 and school operations,” agency spokesman Ryan Brown said in a statement to Statehouse Report.
He said the agency has implemented five mitigation strategies put forth by the Centers for Disease Control: Consistent and correct use of masks; social distancing to the
largest extent possible; hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; cleaning and disinfection; and contact tracing in collaboration with the local health department.
Brown said the agency has purchased and delivered more than $50 million in protection devices and supplies, and distributed $194.7 million in federal funds to schools to address pandemic expenses.
“(The agency) is in the process of supplying an additional $80 million to districts that can be used to hire school nurses, purchase safety materials and technology for remote learning, as well as provide students with interventions and supports to ensure they are successful during the pandemic and beyond,” he wrote.
But while the agency recommends levels of percent positive — with a percent positive of more than 5 percent leading to a school labeled as “moderate risk” of transmission — there is no state data on how many are being tested within staff and student populations.
The state’s percent positive level as of Thursday is 13.2 percent, nearly double the national percent positive rate of 7 percent. South Carolina has experienced 3,645 confirmed deaths associated with the virus since March.
In other news:
Absentee votes expected to hit 1.3M. The South Carolina Election Commission is projecting 1.3 million ballots to be cast absentee, either in-person or by mail, by Election Day on Tuesday. If 76 percent of voters turnout for the election — the turnout in the 2008 election — as many as 2.7 million could vote, with 1.4 million showing up to precincts on Tuesday.
- Related: A federal judge ruled this week S.C. cannot reject ballots due to mismatched signature. Read more.
S.C. unemployment claims drop below 200,000. For the first time since April, the latest unemployment data released by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that South Carolina’s unemployment claims dropped below 200,000. About 197,000 South Carolinians continued to apply for either state or federal unemployment programs in October. Read more.
Reported anti-LGBT incident in Charleston fuels cries for hate crimes law. LGBTQ advocacy groups say a reported incident being investigated as a hate crime by Charleston police reiterates the need for a statewide ordinance. Read more.
McMaster among militia group’s targets, FBI says. New search warrants reveal Gov. Henry McMaster was among the targets of a militia group that investigators say plotted to kidnap and harm the governor of Michigan. In an online exchange, two people referred to protests and “potential acts of violence” in South Carolina, including an apparent reference to McMaster, the affidavit said. Read more.
Leach trying to transform long-troubled social services agency. S.C. Department of Social Services head Michael Leach is trying to figure out how to fix almost everything at one of the most outdated child welfare agencies in the country, and COVID-19 has made his job more complicated. Read more.
S.C. agencies spend thousands on lobbyists in pandemic. From Jan. 1 through May 31, 44 state and local entities, including state-created agencies such as Santee Cooper and local fire and water/sewer districts, collectively spent at least $812,661 on lobbyists, The Nerve found in a review of State Ethics Commission records. Read more.
Defund the police? Pandemic cuts have led to decreased police budgets. Some South Carolina cities are cutting police funding amid coronavirus budget crunches and lack of federal aid. Read more.
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