County COVID-19 cases passes 100, testing sites announced

As voters in Laurens County went to the polls for several local Primary Elections, cases of COVID-19 across the state continued to climb, surpassing 15,000 on Tuesday.

DHEC has increased testing sites, including one in Laurens Thursday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at E.B. Morse Elementary in Laurens. (See below for current DHEC schedule link.)

More than 2,000 new statewide cases, including a record-setting 542 on Monday, have been confirmed over the past five days.

By Tuesday afternoon the total number of confirmed cases in Laurens County had grown to 97 with four additional cases Monday and and nine on Tuesday, then a total of 101 was announced late afternoon on Wednesday. Gray Court increased to 23, Laurens to 28 and Clinton to 31, while smaller communities like Mountville remained in low single digits.

More than 100 mobile testing sites are being operated across the state during the next several weeks as officials attempt to increase testing in rural communities.

More opportunities exist in Greenville and Greenwood the last week in June.

According to DHEC statistics Tuesday afternoon, June 9, the total statewide numbers had climbed to 15,228 statewide with 568 deaths as a result of the novel coronavirus.

The increases have come as the amount of testing has increased and as the state has reopened many activities that were shut down by Gov. Henry McMaster as health officials attempted to “flatten the curve” and stymie the number of new cases.

Officials from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control are still urging residents to practice social distancing and wear face masks while in public.

For a list of DHEC partnership testing sites across the state check here. https://scdhec.gov/infectious-diseases/viruses/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-mobile-pop-clinics