COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina is seeing COVID-19 numbers the state hasn't seen since early January. DHEC recorded 6,697 COVID cases on August 25th, the third-highest number in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
According to the agency, the last time the state saw so many positive COVID tests in one day was January 6th, which saw more than 7,000 new cases.
One Midlands resident says more needs to be done to lower the numbers. "I just think we got comfortable with pretty much everything. We let our guard down."
She went on to say, "I want to see more people doing the right thing, wear your mask, social distance, wash your hands. I think we need to go back to where we started to get those numbers down, especially for our kids, we don't want them to be out of school."
Another said she's just scared. "Me being a healthcare worker, it scares me even more, just to think about the trauma last year that it caused, the deaths in South Carolina, it is a scare."
According to DHEC the state has not been below 1,000 daily cases since July 24th. Richland and Lexington Counties combined saw more than a thousand new cases on August 27th, 558 new cases in Lexington and 480 in Richland.
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One vaccinated woman says she worries about getting COVID. "It's just exploded over the past couple of weeks and that doesn't surprise me at all, unfortunately."
She went on to say, "So, still see there are people who are vaccinated being hospitalized as well. I don't feel totally protected but I definitely feel better than if I wasn't vaccinated."