York County and SC set new COVID records as schools add more student, staff cases
A record COVID-19 day in York County coincides with yet more area cases in schools.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 170 new York County coronavirus cases on Friday. There are another three probable cases. The confirmed cases Friday are a dozen more than the previous high, in July 19.
Lancaster County had 32 new confirmed cases. Chester County had 18, with two probable cases. The 2,470 confirmed cases statewide on Friday (there were 90 more probable ones) is easily a new high mark for South Carolina.
The state also had 30 confirmed or probable deaths from COVID-19. Included are two each from York, Lancaster and Chester counties. Elderly York County residents died Nov. 11 and 23. Elderly Chester County residents died Nov. 13 and Dec. 1. A middle-age Lancaster County resident died Nov. 28, and an elderly resident died Dec. 1.
There have now been 140 York County deaths, 67 in Lancaster County and 37 in Chester County.
Schools also saw increases on Friday. One Lancaster County school added its first cases on a day when the fall COVID-19 count among public K-12 students in South Carolina topped 3,000.
Indian Land Middle School in the Lancaster County School District joined the list Friday when the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control updated school statistics. Indian Land Middle now shows at least one staff case. The school joins 90 others in York, Lancaster and Chester counties to report at least one case this fall.
Cotton Belt Elementary School in the York School District recorded its first student cases, after prior staff cases. York Road Elementary School in the Rock Hill School District has its first staff cases, after prior student cases.
Statewide there are now 4,519 cases this fall in South Carolina schools, per DHEC. They include 3,158 student and 1,361 staff cases. There are 300 more total cases Friday than on Tuesday, when DHEC last updated the list.
Individual districts provide their own, often more updated sets of numbers.
Rock Hill schools
The Rock Hill district has 22 student and 15 staff cases new this week. There are 302 students and 89 staff in isolation or quarantine.
This fall there have been 120 student and 78 staff cases. About 8% of all students and staff in schools have been or are in quarantine. There have been 1,454 students and 416 staff in quarantine or isolation.
The only district schools with double-digit student cases this fall are the high schools. Northwestern has the most at 22, followed by Rock Hill at 21 and South Pointe at 15.
Fort Mill schools
The Fort Mill School District typically lists new cases counts on Fridays. A note on the Fort Mill site states it will instead update on Monday.
Numbers from the prior week show 21 student and 13 staff positives.
Clover schools
The Clover School District shows 13 student and seven staff cases on its active list. This fall there have been 98 student and 42 staff cases.
Clover High School has the most this fall with 50 student and 13 staff cases. The school has five active student cases on Friday, again most in the district.
York schools
The York district shows active and total cases this fall. There are six student and three staff cases. There have been 49 student and 25 staff cases this school year.
York Comprehensive High School and York Intermediate School have the most active students cases, with two each. The high school has the most cases this fall, at 21.
York Intermediate and Harold C. Johnson Elementary School have the most staff cases this fall, with five each.
Lancaster County schools
Lancaster County doesn’t list data by school, but by week. The most recent data on Friday afternoon remained from the week ending Nov. 20. There were 31 new positive cases and 391 quarantines that week.
Chester County schools
The Chester County School District lists 67 positive cases since school began. There are 42 student and 25 staff cases. Lewisville High School has the most student cases with 15. Lewisville Elementary School has the most staff cases with seven. Lewisville High has at least twice as many total cases as any other school at 20.
DHEC school numbers
All Clover and Fort Mill schools on the DHEC list show cases. York and Rock Hill show cases for every school on both the DHEC and district listings, when combining the two. DHEC lists just three schools each in Lancaster and Chester counties without cases.
Schools with the most total cases on the DHEC list largely are high schools. They include Clover (23), Fort Mill (13), Nation Ford (13), Rock Hill (13), Northwestern (11), Andrew Jackson (8), Indian Land (8), South Pointe (8), Lancaster (5), Lewisville (5) and York (5).
Other schools on the list include Kings Town Elementary (7), Indian Land Elementary (6), Sullivan Middle (6), York Intermediate (5) and Larne Elementary (5).
