Staff reports | State health officials this week announced a change in the way they will calculate the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests.
Ten months into the pandemic, officials said the reformed calculation brings the state in line with others and is a better measure of spread. But slightly lower positivity rates that result should not be used as indicators that COVID-19 poses any less of a risk in the state.
On Thursday using the new calculation method, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 1,649 new confirmed cases from 23,653 individual tests, making 10.1 percent of tests positive. Last week, rates were reported at more than 20 percent.
“It is important that people understand that while percent positive appears as a smaller number under the new way of calculating the rate, COVID-19 continues to spread at an elevated level in our state. That smaller number is solely based 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, Gov. Henry McMaster and the state Senate are bickering over whether to give seniors or teachers priority for getting COVID-19 vaccines. The governor said he might veto a Senate effort to steer shots to teachers. More. DHEC said Wednesday South Carolina residents meeting the age requirement of at least 65 years old, regardless of health status or preexisting conditions, can schedule appointments starting Monday.
In other recent news:
Senate confirms Simmer as new DHEC director. The South Carolina Senate confirmed Dr. Edward Simmer, a retired military doctor, Thursday to be the new director of the state’s beleaguered health and environmental agency. More: AP News
Huge port deal gets limits. State legislators have agreed to send a proposed deal to borrow $550 million for Port of Charleston infrastructure improvements to the full Senate for consideration, but only after adding a series of financial controls. More: The Post and Courier
Abortion ban gets House hearing. About 50 South Carolina residents testified in person and online on Wednesday at a House subcommittee hearing in what was likely the final chance for people to speak on the proposed abortion ban recently passed by the Senate. More: AP News
$300 million lawsuit alleges voyeurism at Bishop England. A $300 million lawsuit filed by former GOP state Sen. Larry Richter against Bishop England High School and the Catholic Diocese of Charleston seeks tuition refunds and damages for every child who might have been seen through a window peering into students’ locker rooms. More: Charleston City Paper.
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