York, Lancaster, Chester counties’ report COVID spikes; 5 new schools report cases
Five new tri-county schools appear on the state listing of COVID-19 cases. Also, York, Lancaster and Chester counties reported an overall coronavirus spike.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control updates COVID-19 data for schools each Tuesday and Friday. The 1,141 cases on Friday is up nearly 100 cases from Tuesday’s report.
The York School District was the last to report a COVID-19 case among tri-county districts, but appeared on the list Friday with fewer than five staff cases at Cotton Belt Elementary School.
A.R. Rucker Middle School in the Lancaster County School District is new to the DHEC list with fewer than five staff cases. District schools with the same listing from Tuesday, fewer than five total cases each, are Buford, Indian Land and Lancaster high schools; and Buford, Indian Land and Kershaw elementary schools.
Private schools to report COVID-19 cases thus far include Hawthorne Christian Academy in Chester County and Lake Pointe Academy and Westminster Catawba Christian School in York County. Each school shows fewer than five total cases.
Figures can vary between the cumulative DHEC listing and what some districts independently provide. Lag time and where the test comes from also can lead to discrepancies. DHEC lists cases as fewer than five until they reach that total to protect privacy.
Individual districts often use exact figures.
Rock Hill schools
A Rock Hill School District online dashboard updates daily with COVID-19 statistics.
As of Friday afternoon, there were 19 student and 12 staff positives since Sept. 8. There have been 311 students and 74 staff quarantined or isolated. Combined, those figures make up about 3% of district students and staff who attend regularly (as opposed to the virtual school option).
The Rock Hill information shows this week there have been four new student and three new staff positives.
Overall cases listed on the Rock Hill site include student positives at South Pointe (4), Northwestern (3) and Rock Hill high schools; Saluda Trail (3), Castle Heights, Dutchman Creek and Sullivan middle schools; and Lesslie (2), India Hook, Rosewood and York Road elementary schools.
Staff cases are at South Pointe (2) and Rock Hill high schools; Dutchman Creek and Saluda middle schools; Mount Gallant (2), Cherry Park, India Hook and Mount Holly elementary schools; and the district Flexibile Learning Center.
The DHEC listing for Rock Hill schools hasn’t changed since Tuesday, with fewer than five total cases each at Northwestern and South Pointe high schools; Dutchman Creek, Saluda Trail and Sullivan middle schools; and Cherry Park, India Hook, Lesslie and Mount Holly elementary schools.
Fort Mill schools
A similar Fort Mill School District dashboard updates each Friday. There are now 10 student and three staff positives among current cases, up two cases from the update a week ago.
The Fort Mill listing shows positive student cases at Fort Mill (3), Nation Ford (2) and Catawba Ridge high schools, Fort Mill Middle School and River Trail Elementary School (3). Staff positives come at Catawba Ridge and Fort Mill high schools, and Gold Hill Elementary School.
The listing shows 69 student and nine staff quarantine cases.
No new schools appeared Friday on the DHEC listing. It continues to show fewer than five total cases each at Fort Mill and Nation Ford high schools; Springfield Middle School; and Doby’s Bridge, Fort Mill, Kings Town, Pleasant Knoll and River Trail elementary schools.
Clover schools
According to the Clover School District, there are eight active student and three active staff cases as of Friday. There are fewer than five student cases each at Clover High School, Oakridge Middle School and both Larne and Kinard elementary schools.
There is a staff case each at Clover High, Clover Middle School and Larne.
The Clover district provides weekly updates on weekends. It shows current cases along with totals, as students and staff complete their quarantine periods. Clover High is one of the largest schools in the state and has been at the top of the DHEC listing of school cases since the health department started reports in early September.
On Friday, district public information officer Bryan Dillon said the relatively few current cases at Clover High should roll off that list by Monday.
“None of them are new this week,” Dillon said.
The DHEC cumulative listing shows Griggs Road with cases for the first time, at fewer than five among students. Numbers remain the same on that list with 16 students and fewer than five staff members so far at Clover High School and fewer than five total cases at Clover and Oakridge middle schools, plus Crowders Creek, Kinard and Oakridge elementary schools. There are fewer than five student and staff cases at Larne Elementary School.
Chester schools
The Chester County School District has joined Rock Hill and Fort Mill in providing its own COVID-19 data.
An online dashboard updates Chester school statistics daily. As of Friday afternoon, it showed 12 positive cases this school year. There were five student and seven staff positives.
The listing shows nine cases this week after the first three in the district the week prior. Total student cases thus far have come at Chester Park COLT (2), Chester high and middle schools, and Lewisville High School. Total staff cases have come at Lewisville Elementary School (3), Chester Park ARTS (2), Lewisville High and among other district personnel.
The DHEC listing on Friday added Lewisville High School and Chester Park ARTS with fewer than five staff cases each. Other holdover schools on the list, each with fewer than five total cases, are Chester Middle School, Chester Park COLT, Lewisville Elementary School and The Learning Center.
York, Lancaster, Chester COVID spike
Friday brought a spike in overall cases for York, Lancaster and Chester counties.
The 53 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in York County is the highest figure since Sept. 3. York County also had five new probable cases.
Lancaster County had 20 new confirmed and two new probable cases Friday. Those 20 confirmed cases mark the highest daily number in Lancaster County since Sept. 19.
Chester County registered 19 new confirmed cases. That figure is the highest in that county since Aug. 11, at least twice as high as any daily figure since Sept. 25.
Statewide there were 874 new confirmed and 74 probable cases Friday, with 14 confirmed and two probable deaths. There have been more than 155,000 confirmed or probable cases this year with 3,325 confirmed and 205 probable deaths.
Most important flu shot of your life
On Friday, top state health officials urged South Carolina residents to take an annual prevention step, but with renewed significance.
“This year, this may be the most important flu shot of your life,” DHEC interim public hearth director Brannon Traxler said in a statement. “We’re experiencing the worst public health crisis in 100 years, and it’s never been more important for each and every one of us to stay as healthy as possible.”
Traxler, along with state epidemiologist Linda Bell, urged the vaccinations because contracting flu and coronavirus is possible and likely could cause more health complications. The flu shot this year aims to protect from the four most common flu viruses expected this season.
Flu vaccines are safe, effective and don’t cause the flu, according to DHEC.
“Vaccination is one of the most successful public health interventions in history for reducing disease spread and preventing complications and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases,” Bell said. “So many generations before us would have given anything to have a flu vaccine. With COVID-19’s prevalence across our state, we must use the vaccines that medical science has afforded us to help prevent illness like the flu.”
DHEC and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend anyone age six months or older get the vaccine. Health risks from flu are higher for young children, seniors, pregnant women and people with chronic illness.
Over the past six years, there have been an average of 140 flu deaths per year in South Carolina. Since March there have been more than 3,500 COVID-19 deaths.
“Another reason why it’s so important to get your flu shot this year is we don’t want to overwhelm our hospitals, ICUs, and ventilators with both flu and COVID-19 patients,” Traxler said.
Flu shots are available at DHEC public health offices, hospitals, doctor’s offices and pharmacies.
