South Carolina officials are urging residents to practice social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus cases.
But are South Carolinians actually taking those measures seriously?
A recent study done by Unacast — a company that purchases data from cell phone companies — gave South Carolinians a “B” in social distancing for reducing its average mobility by 34 percent from Feb. 28 through March 21. This is calculated based on distance traveled.
The Palmetto State fell well below the United State’s average mobility change this month— Americans reduced their overall distance travelled by 40 percent.
According to the study, the following South Carolina counties got an “A” rating for social distancing:
- Charleston (-44 percent change)
- Bamberg (-42.8 percent change)
- Beaufort (-43 percent change)
- York (-41 percent change)
- Barnwell (-41 percent change)
On the flipside, the following counties got an “F ” rating for barely decreasing — and at times increasing — their average distance traveled.
- Dillon (-12 percent change)
- Calhoun (-11 percent change)
- Colleton (-4 percent change)
- Clarendon ( -2 percent change)
- Jasper (+32 percent change)
Coronavirus cases in South Carolina surged again on Tuesday with 44 new cases reported, according to the latest numbers from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Services (SCDHEC).
SCDHEC is providing a county-by-county breakdown of cases. And here are the latest numbers on that score …
- Kershaw County: 58
- Richland County: 45
- Greenville County: 39
- Charleston County: 36
- Beaufort County: 22
- Lexington County: 19
- Horry County: 19
- Anderson County: 16
- York County: 11
- Orangeburg County: 8
- Darlington County: 8
- Sumter County: 8
- Lancaster County: 7
- Berkeley County: 4
- Clarendon County: 5
- Florence County: 5
- Spartanburg County: 4
- Dorchester County: 3
- Georgetown County: 2
- Greenwood County: 2
- Lee County: 2
- Oconee County: 2
- Fairfield: 2
- Abbeville County: 1
- Aiken County: 2
- Calhoun County: 1
- Chester County: 1
- Colleton County: 1
- Dillon County: 1
- Edgefield County: 1
- Jasper County: 2
- Marlboro County: 1
- Newberry County: 1
- Saluda County: 1
- Chesterfield County: 1
- Pickens: 1
On Tuesday afternoon, the state of South Carolina announced that all government-run schools would remain shuttered through the end of April and the City of Charleston announced a shutdown of all essential businesses.
Yesterday, Dr. Linda Bell of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said South Carolina is in the “acceleration phase” of the disease because of the amount of community spread that is occurring.
Bell said many people are not taking the social distancing measures seriously because they were not aware of specific cases happening in their own communities.
This news outlet is committed to giving our readers the very latest, most relevant information we have regarding this unfolding situation. To check out more of our coronavirus coverage, click on the link below …
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