COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - As students in South Carolina have begun returning to schools this fall, state health officials have counted 158 cases of COVID-19 among students and employees of K-12 institutions so far.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control began reporting data Friday on students and employees who attended school or school-sponsored activities in-person while infectious. Eighty-nine students and 69 employees were reported to have tested positive across the state’s public and private schools.
The numbers come with several caveats, the agency warned. The data does not indicate where individuals contracted the virus, as students and employees come and go from schools. The reports are also limited to students and employees physically present in schools.
The agency is not including cases at the state’s colleges and universities in the twice-a-week reports, though some schools are reporting data on their own.
At the University of South Carolina, a prominent hot spot in the state since students began returning in August, an online dashboard reported 1,461 cases as of Friday. Officials say a total of 12 Greek Village houses have now been quarantined, and 22 students suspended for throwing large parties or breaking quarantine.
Also Friday, the health department confirmed 1,511 new cases and 37 additional deaths. The state has tallied more than 121,300 cases since the beginning of the outbreak. At least 2,706 people have died.
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