Chester County has first coronavirus case; York and Lancaster counties totals rise to 7
Chester County has its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, South Carolina health officials announced Monday, and numbers in York and Lancaster counties continue to climb.
York County has three new cases and Lancaster County has two, bringing both county totals to 7, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
DHEC announced Monday it is investigating 103 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, across the state.
South Carolina now has 298 total confirmed cases in 34 counties, according to DHEC. Two more people, both elderly, died as a result of the coronavirus, DHEC announced Monday. In all, five people who tested positive for the virus have died in the state, according to DHEC.
Lancaster County’s first case was announced March 11. According to DHEC, the county’s first two cases came from the same household. Both York and Lancaster counties had multiple new cases confirmed over the weekend.
Chester County Supervisor Shane Stuart urged the public to continue to follow social distancing and hygiene recommendations.
“We can’t panic in Chester County now that we have our first confirmed case of coronavirus,” Stuart said. “There were cases around us and it seemed like it was almost inevitable that we would see at least one case. We need to continue to be good neighbors and look out for each other. That’s who we are in Chester County — a community that cares for each other.”
To avoid contagion for first responders, Chester County instituted a new policy for emergency response that includes a special vehicle and a technician who responds to medical and emergency calls for an initial screening with an iPad and the coronavirus questionnaire that is used at health care facilities, said Britt Lineberger, EMS Director.
That vehicle is equipped with personal protective equipment and that person on scene can then advise responding deputies, S.C. Highway Patrol or other emergency workers if the person or persons involved has any of the coronavirus indicators, Lineberger said.
Last week, DHEC instituted a system in which South Carolina county emergency management officials are sent emails about new confirmed cases. However, DHEC has not released specific detail about cases, like where patients live in each county, if the patients have been hospitalized or how patients may have contracted COVID-19.
County officials in both York, Lancaster and Chester counties believe DHEC should be providing more information on cases.
Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said that officers routinely go straight from one call to another, and need vital information when arriving at calls for service, Faile said. If a dispatch location is a place where there has been a positive test, officers need to know that to protect not just the deputy, but any person the deputy comes in contact with afterward, Faile said.
“We certainly don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy or violate federal or state laws concerning the confidentiality of health information, and we have no intention of disseminating information of that nature, “Faile said. “However, our officers will be taking calls and coming into contact with citizens around the clock through this public health crisis.”
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast, who is a registered nurse and president of the S.C. Coroner’s Association, said she is concerned the lack of information from DHEC about positive cases or possible exposure to local officials leaves a myriad of first responders at risk at and after death scenes.
“Given the current pandemic we are faced with, it would be beneficial for that information to be released,” Gast said. “I understand there is a need for patient confidentiality. However, with the crisis we are facing as a community, the risk of transmission could be greatly reduced by knowing who is positive and where they are located when it comes to first responders.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 4:52 PM.
