The tables have turned now that South Carolina has been identified as a coronavirus hot spot.
Back in March, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order for visitors from identified coronavirus hot spots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to quarantine for 14 days.
Three months later, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut governors issued an order forcing visitors from South Carolina and seven other states where COVID-19 cases are rising to quarantine for 14 days, NBC News reported.
“We have to make sure other states don’t infect us now,” Cuomo said on NBC’s “Today” show, according to the NBC News article. “So we’re now afraid that we have the low infection rate. People get on a plane and they come to New York. And I have people calling me all day long, saying they’re worried about where they are. They want to come to New York — and that’s great, but we don’t want them bringing the virus here.”
The mandatory quarantine order comes as South Carolina cases and hospitalizations have surged in the month of June.
More than 26,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for COVID-19 since March. Since Friday, more than 5,000 tested positive for COVID.
So far in June, South Carolina health officials have reported more positive COVID-19 cases than they did in March, April, and May combined.
The recent surge is not due to the state’s expanded testing. South Carolina still ranked 38th in the nation this week for coronavirus testing per capita, according to data from The Covid Tracking Project.
Recent data shows that South Carolina’s new cases are surging at levels higher than most of the country.
For nine days straight, South Carolina has hit record-breaking COVID-19 hospitalization levels.
On Tuesday, a total of 824 patients who tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19 were receiving treatment across South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). This is the highest number reported since the state began tracking the metric in early May.
Perhaps most concerning is that Tuesday’s percent of positive tests was the highest ever on record at 17.4%.
Residents from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas also are under the New York tri state area’s mandatory quarantine order, according to CNN reporter Omar Jimenez.
Facing mounting pressure to confront the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster held a press conference Tuesday to address the pandemic for the first time in almost two weeks.
He announced a sticker program, called South Carolina Palmetto Priority, which essentially award restaurants that follow SCDHEC guidelines for COVID-19 safety with a decal.
South Carolina was one of the last states in the nation to order mandatory lockdowns and one of the first to lift the order. Starting May 4, McMaster began reopening businesses across the state and by the end of May, most businesses and beaches were allowed to reopen with virtually no legal restrictions.
McMaster said yesterday he’s been “disappointed” in the overall lack of social distancing and safety precautions as COVID-19 cases keep climbing.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR..
Mandy Matney is the news director at FITSNews. She’s an investigative journalist from Kansas who has worked for newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, and South Carolina before making the switch to FITS. She currently lives on Hilton Head Island where she enjoys beach life. Mandy also hosts the Murdaugh Murders podcast. Want to contact Mandy? Send your tips to mandy@fitsnews.com.
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