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2 positive, 5 presumed positive cases of Coronavirus in South Carolina, officials confirm

So far, South Carolina health officials have confirmed seven presumed positive cases in the state.

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina health officials said Monday that another person has tested presumed positive for coronavirus in the state, bringing the total to seven cases of either presumed positive or confirmed cases.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster gave an update on the state's response at the state's emergency operations center in West Columbia. He and other leaders stressed that the risk of contracting coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, remains low.

"There is no cause for public alarm," McMaster said. "People should continue their normal daily routines and responsibilities."

Here are the latest numbers are at this point: 

  • 2 confirmed positive cases
  • 5 presumed positive cases 
  • 16 people are being monitored for symptoms, but have not tested positive 

RELATED: South Carolina company confirms worker is presumed coronavirus case

“Presumptive positive” means samples from these individuals tested positive for COVID-19 at DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory. Those results, however, are required to be confirmed by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It takes 24-48 hours for the CDC to confirm samples after they’re received.

South Carolina State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said all of the patients are doing well, with the two hospitalized patients in stable condition. She said the most important message people need to understand is that it is everyone's responsibility to stop the spread of the virus. That can be done by covering sneezes and coughs, frequent hand washing, and staying home if one is sick.

State leaders also said they have no shortage of testing kits.

DHEC Director Dr. Rick Toomey also addressed Richland School District One's announcement that some students and their family were self-quarantining due to coming into contact with someone being monitored for coronavirus. Toomey said DHEC was not consulted and said they would have likely told the district those students' actions were unnecessary. 

McMaster said all schools and state government offices will remain open.

RELATED: Update: DHEC says no coronavirus risk to Richland 1 students at this time

New preliminary information 

  • A Camden man, the latest case, tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 late Sunday, March 8. He was evaluated at a healthcare facility, was not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home. He is a direct contact, meaning he had close face-to-face exposure, with a previously announced presumptive positive case.

Other cases

  • Two other cases are direct contacts (meaning close face-to-face contact) with the Camden elderly woman who was announced as a presumptive positive on March 6. One of these two individuals is a woman who has hospitalized for reasons unrelated to COVID-19 and is isolated at this time. The other individual, an elderly man, was temporarily admitted to a healthcare facility, was discharged, and is currently isolated at home.
  • The third new case is a man from Camden with no known connection, at this time, to the other presumptive positive cases from Camden. He was evaluated at a healthcare facility, was not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home.
  • The fourth new case is a man from Spartanburg County with no known connection, at this time, to any of the other presumptive positive cases. He is not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home. He had recently traveled to Italy, and returned to the U.S. through the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. He had no symptoms until the day after he returned and he had not traveled to any other U.S. airport, therefore, we don't have reason to believe there was any risk to airport patrons.

Updated Information

  • The elderly female from Camden was transferred to a health care facility in the Midlands on March 6 to receive a higher level of care. She remains isolated.
  • The woman from Charleston County is symptom-free and continuing to self-monitor.

RELATED: Facts Not Fear | What you need to know about the COVID-19 outbreak

At this time, precautions are recommended to maintain daily routines of protecting against illness by practicing good hygiene, washing your hands, covering your cough. Individuals with signs of illness should stay home from school and work and not attend public gatherings.

Residents who are showing symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath should call their personal doctor or healthcare provider. If an individual doesn’t have a primary care physician, MUSC Health is providing free telehealth screening to all South Carolinians. Anyone experiencing symptoms can visit MUSC.care and use the promo code COVID19 and be screened without having to leave your home.

So far, 1,178 logged onto that site. 

The DHEC Care Line is available to provide general information about COVID-19 by calling 1-855-472-3432 from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week. The Care Line hours are extended to 9 p.m. tonight. Because call volume has been high, callers are urged to be patient if they receive a busy signal and try their call at a later time. For general questions about COVID-19, visit the DHEC website at scdhec.gov/COVID19 or the CDC website here.

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