York and Lancaster counties each add one more coronavirus case; SC total climbs to 456
York and Lancaster counties each added one new coronavirus case, state health officials announced Thursday.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is investigating 32 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 456.
DHEC also announced Thursday that two more people, both elderly, died after contracting the virus. In all, nine people have died in the state.
Positive cases have been reported in 39 of the state’s 46 counties. York County now has 19 cases of the virus and Lancaster County has seven. Chester County has one confirmed case.
Community leaders in York, Lancaster and Chester counties continue to seek additional information from DHEC about positive cases in the area.
DHEC has not been publicly releasing specific detail on new cases — like where patients live in each county, if the patients have been hospitalized, or how patients may have contracted COVID-19.
The department has informed officials it will send counties information about specific zip codes for positive cases, along with other demographic information including the age of the patient.
“We are making the data that we have available, but we don’t want it to be misinterpreted for what it means and what it does not mean,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said during the press conference Thursday.
Even with more detail on positive cases, Bell said it’s important that first responders screen callers to determine if they are potentially putting themselves at risk of exposure.
“What is needed to make those decision about protection is who is actually infectious,” she said. “Our database doesn’t tell us who continues to be infectious and we want first responders to practice universal standards because there are other people in the community who have not yet been diagnosed.”
Michael Johnson, York County Council chairman, said the changes are a positive step.
“The release of additional information by DHEC to the counties is appreciated and a good first step,” Johnson said. “The governor has done an excellent job working with local governments.”
He said the a high priority of county officials must continue to be protecting first responders who deal with potential coronavirus cases in the field. York County officials will continue to seek a more pinpointed location on positive cases for first responders and community safety, Johnson said.
“Our priority has to be protecting first responders and assisting the sick,” Johnson said. “The next step is to give us specific information as it relates to where the person actually lives. We need first responders to know the situation they are walking into when the next call comes. We aren’t interested in publishing this information, we just want the opportunity to prepare and plan”
Chester County Supervisor Shane Stuart said, while his county has one confirmed case of coronavirus, there remains concern for first responders.
A former Chester deputy, Stuart called the lack of information to first responders “a huge issue.”
Stuart said he understands the need for privacy in medical care, but losing medical or emergency personnel to contagion could harm the government’s ability to protect the public.
“You’ve got to balance that (privacy) against the need for public safety in our community,” Stuart said. “For example, if you have officers or EMTs walking into a situation that takes them out of the job we hired them for, you then have a much bigger set of problems for society. As a government official, I have an obligation to give our emergency personnel all the tools they need, in order to safely respond to public service calls.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 4:57 PM.
