As South Carolina reported its first coronavirus death Monday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced five new cases, four of them in a county already consumed by the pandemic.
SCDHEC reported an elderly person, who previously lived at Lexington Medical Center Extended Care Skilled Nursing Facility, passed away Monday.
The state has now documented 33 cases statewide. Of those 33, state records show 18 are in and around Camden in Kershaw County.
State records show five people have been hospitalized in Camden and a dozen of the people infected are connected to another known case in some way.
As a result of the growing threat, the city closed all city facilities except City Hall and Camden Police Department headquarters until further notice “to prevent further spread” in the community.
Kershaw Health, the local hospital, announced it has opened a special unit to care for patients infected, including everyone from those who’ve already needed intensive care to people just needing a diagnosis, discharge and then isolation order. The hospital has also transferred the most severe cases to other facilities for more advanced care.
While the early numbers in Camden are alarming, doctors don’t want people to panic. They are urging people to focus their energy on things that they can control, including practicing good handwashing and social distancing and checking in on people who are vulnerable.
Records show the first Camden case originated in an elderly woman who was one of the first two presumptive positives in South Carolina. The woman was isolated, tested and then taken to a medical facility on March 6th.
South Carolina reported eight hospitalizations as of Monday morning, including two middle-aged people.
North Carolina isn’t sharing nearly as many specifics as South Carolina, but the state said Monday, one person is hospitalized in North Carolina.
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