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Columbia leaders encourage testing, masking after over 4,000 new COVID-19 cases nears statewide record

A Columbia church is offering free testing, unsure when the congregation will be able to return as cases surge. Mayor Steve Benjamin says the vaccine offers new hope

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Inside Reid Chapel AME Church Saturday was Pastor Carey Grady.

He sat alone with his back nestled against the red cushion of a church pew. 

The other rows spanned behind him like an endless sea. It was an emptiness he had grown accustomed to with his members home due to the coronavirus.

"It's different, the preaching event," Pastor Grady said. "You're used to having people. Call and response."

His words are now spoken through a camera to an audience at home as a precaution.

"Particularly the first two or three Sundays... the more pressing thing on my mind was how is this affecting our people," Pastor Grady said. "What word from the Lord can we have that can offer encouragement?"

Credit: Kayland Hagwood
Pastor Carey Grady sits in empty sanctuary.

As cases continue to rise, it's unclear when he'll feel his members can safely return.

To make a difference, he reached out to the State Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to set up a testing clinic outside the church.

"It's just important that... the testing is accessible to all people," Pastor Grady said.

Sites like his have seen a spike in visitors ahead of the holidays, and with that spike came a surge in cases unlike ever before.

RELATED: More than 4,000 new COVID-19 cases in SC, 84 confirmed deaths

This Saturday DHEC reported 4,219 new cases. The only day with a higher total was Christmas.

The percent positive was 33.2 percent, also one of the highest totals the state has experienced.

"We all know what we should do right now, I mean that’s just the fact of the matter, the question is whether or not we’ll do it or if it requires the proximity of seeing someone we know and love adversely affected by it to require us to do what needs to be done," Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said. "Wear your mask, physically distance, sanitize. If you don't have to go out, don't go out."

The City of Columbia has increased the penalty for those not wearing masks to $100. Although a curfew is on the table, Mayor Benjamin said it's not a step they're hoping to take.

“We have a significant conversation going on now with leaders at DHEC about the role that we can play in messaging around the vaccine. Helping to make sure that we get to the point where we see at least 80 percent of our citizens take the vaccine, gives us herd immunity and we're excited about that, but we’ve got a long way to go," Mayor Benjamin said.

RELATED: Columbia mask mandate extended until February

As for Pastor Grady, he said, "I don’t think anything is going to go back to normal, it’s a new normal… but we’re going to continue to be a church that tries to meet the spiritual a physical needs of our people."

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