Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Dec. 11

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

Over 3,200 new cases, shattering single-day record

At least 228,261 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina and 4,332 have died, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday reported 3,217 new COVID-19 cases, up from 1,883 reported the day before. The case total reported Friday shatters the previous single-day record set last Saturday by 422 cases. It also marks the first time the state has reported more than 3,000 cases in a single day.

Forty-two additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported Friday.

As of Friday, 1,234 people in South Carolina were hospitalized for the coronavirus. Last week was the first time in more than three months that COVID-19 patients had occupied more than 1,000 hospital beds statewide.

The percentage of positive tests was 8.6% on Friday, out of 16,897 tests — the most tests administered in a single day in weeks, contributing to what is also the lowest positive test rate seen in weeks. Health officials have said the number should be closer to 5% to slow the spread of the virus.

Over 1,000 Lexington-Richland 5 students in quarantine

More than 1,000 students in the Lexington-Richland 5 school district are currently in quarantine, according to data on the district’s own COVID-19 dashboard, The State reported.

The dashboard shows 113 staff members are also in quarantine.

Per policy, students and staff are required to quarantine if they have been in contact with someone who tests positive for the coronavirus.

Of the quarantined students, 617 are in middle or high school, and 404 are elementary level. The majority of the effected faculty -- 65 of them -- work at elementary schools, and 42 work at upper level schools.

Some states share where vaccines are going. SC isn’t one of them

North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas and others have told the public which hospitals and care providers will be receiving the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine when they arrive, but South Carolina is being tight lipped, the Island Packet reports.

Health care workers are at a high risk of catching the coronavirus, and so they’re at the front of the line to be inoculated -- but in South Carolina, it’s unclear which health care facilities and systems will be selected first, and in what communities.

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control recently denied a records request seeking that information, saying those records contained confidential proprietary information.

“I don’t know of any state thus far that has released the location names of where those vaccines are going to go to in their limited supply,” Stephen White, DHEC’s director of immunizations, said in early December.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted that information out in November, and Washington D.C. released a list of medical centers on Thursday.

“At this time, South Carolina considers providing the specific locations of limited quantities of vaccine a security risk, with regard to the possibility of theft or disruption to the state’s fair and equitable vaccine distribution plan,” DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick wrote in a statement Friday.

Renwick added that as production continues and the vaccines become available to the general public, the process will be more transparent.

ICU beds are filling as COVID surges. How is your area doing?

With coronavirus activity on the rise, so too are hospitalizations. How much room do South Carolina hospitals have in their intensive-care units?

Some communities are already at full capacity, while others aren’t far off, according to a new tool that uses new data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For example, in Myrtle Beach, only seven ICU beds were available, according to researchers. Spartanburg was at 88% capacity, Columbia was at 83%, and Greenville was at 81%.

Hospitalizations are up 60% from a month ago, and the rate is still climbing. Nearly a quarter of patients currently hospitalized with coronavirus are in ICUs, and 10% are on ventilators.

Planning to get vaccinated? Share your thoughts

Millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in the U.S. this month. Do you plan on getting vaccinated? Are you unsure? Totally opposed?

McClatchy newsrooms in South Carolina are working on a story and want to know your thoughts on COVID-19 vaccines. Click this link for more information.

Hilton Head volunteer clinic director dies of COVID

Stan Stolarcyk, director of free medical clinic Volunteers in Medicine, has died due to COVID-19, the Island Packet reported. He was 62.

Stolarcyk fell ill Nov. 10 and died Wednesday.

He worked with Volunteers in Medicine for 13 years, after serving as the director of the Access Network, an organization dedicated to assisting people with HIV/AIDS in the Lowcountry.

The Hilton Head clinic will be closed Thursday and Friday to give staff time to grieve.

This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 6:53 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Dec. 11."