COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on April 21
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases near 477,000
At least 476,958 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina and 8,247 have died since March 2020, according to state data.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Wednesday reported 391 new COVID-19 cases, up from 362 reported the day before.
Eleven coronavirus-related deaths were also reported.
At least 529 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, with 147 patients in intensive care.
As of Wednesday, 6.3% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower indicates a low risk of community spread.
More than 1.1 million South Carolina residents — or 27.2% of the state’s population — had completed COVID-19 vaccination as of Monday.
SC to require jobless residents to start looking for work again
Faced with what’s being called a “historic worker shortage,” the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce says it will reinstate its work search requirement for residents receiving jobless benefits, The Sun News reported.
Those who are unemployed must be actively searching for work, if they wish to continue getting weekly unemployment payments.
The state nixed the work search requirement last year due to economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, DEW says it’s time for jobless residents to begin perusing the want ads again.
“We continue to be encouraged by the progress being made in the state’s economic recovery as more South Carolinians head back to work,” DEW Executive Director Dan Ellzey said in a statement.
DHEC fixes inaccurate vaccine data in Jasper County
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control has fixed an issue with its database that had lowered the reported number of residents vaccinated against the coronavirus in Jasper County, the Island Packet reported.
The error caused Sun City North residents with Bluffton addresses to be counted as residents of Beaufort County, despite them living in Jasper County. This caused confusion and concern among officials.
At one point in March, DHEC reported that just 17 county residents had been vaccinated, which Hardeeville Mayor Harry Williams called “virtually impossible.”
Rock Hill vaccination clinic gets new location
One of Rock Hill’s largest COVID-19 vaccination sites is moving from the Galleria Mall to the city’s Operation Center next month, The Rock Hill Herald reported.
The clinic, which opened in January, will administer second doses of the vaccine at the Galleria Mall location on May 14 and begin inoculating residents at the new Operation Center location on May 18.
“Our effort to create a space where hundreds of people could be vaccinated daily has been a model of community cooperation,” Mayor John Gettys said in a statement. “There’s no way we could have managed to ramp up our numbers and staff this clinic for the last 12 weeks without our dedicated volunteers, assisted by city staff.”
The new clinic will be housed in the center’s administration building and will run Tuesday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Hilton Head businesses see staff shortage ahead of tourism surge
With tourism season around the corner, some Hilton Head business owners fear the flood of visitors could be too much for their limited staff to bear.
Erika Waronsky owns two businesses, both of which have experienced staffing shortages this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Grocery stores, hotels, catering businesses, restaurants, retail stores — we’re all pushed to the limit right now,” she told The Island Packet. “The workforce shortage is the new pandemic. People are getting vaccinated, they haven’t traveled in a year, they’re going to come here.”
Waronsky has already hired 10 new employees to help bolster what she called her “skeleton staff” ahead of the summer tourism season.
