COLUMBIA, S.C. — During a media briefing on Wednesday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) said rising COVID-19 cases are causing concerns for many in the state. If cases continue to rise, the agency could use their emergency powers.
"Many of our schools are seeing much higher cases within students and faculty than they were last year, and this is concerning," said Dr. Brannon Traxler, Public Health Director, DHEC.
Dr. Traxler said the increase in coronavirus cases has health officials worried about the Fall and Winter season.
"Based on our current trends, both in South Carolina and nationally, I’m worried about what may be seeing in the Fall, when colder weather arrives and more people are indoors," Dr. Traxler said.
She also adds there is high spread statewide and the department has emergency authorization to implement policies to protect everyone, including placing a mask mandate for schools.
"It was developed to allow DHEC to respond, quick, very quickly and nimbly to local situations or outbreaks were very rapid action is required to prevent that immediate kind of imminent danger to the local population," Dr. Traxler said. "Situations in many of our k-12 schools, and school districts meet this definition, but the situation's not the same in every single school district."
She said imposing a mandate would be difficult because of different policies in each district. DHEC will not place a mask mandate at the moment for anyone.
"You have different levels of mask use, voluntarily even, already among different schools and different districts," Dr. Traxler said. "You also have different vaccination rates among the students and the staff."
There is currently a proviso in the state budget that bans school districts from imposing a mask mandate. Some counties, like Richland County, passed ordinances that requires mask wearing for schools.
Currently in the Midlands, there are over 400 students who are positive and nearly two-thousand students in quarantine.
Dr. Traxler did not say if and when the health agency would use their emergency powers. She said at the moment, the best way to protect children who can't receive the vaccine is for those are who eligible to get their shot.
"We need as many people as possible to get vaccinated because it doesn't just protect you, it helps protect our children under the age of 12 who can't get the vaccine yet."