Editor’s note: After moving to weekly updates this spring, we’re restarting daily COVID-19 updates as the state experiences increased cases.
What you need to know this week: Friday’s reported case count, more than 4,650 confirmed, marks the highest seen so far during the delta-variant surge in South Carolina.
State legislators reversed course Thursday and are now requiring students and school staff to mask up on school buses as COVID-19 cases among students continue to rapidly rise.
The state Education Department told schools in July they did not have to make students on buses wear masks. But the agency changed its mind in a letter Thursday, bringing it into line with federal health rules about masks on buses.
The department’s letter does not affect the ban on mask mandates in schools and classrooms levied in a proviso in the state budget.
Latest COVID-19 data
South Carolina health officials reported 6,697 total cases of COVID-19 Aug. 27, with 4,650 confirmed. A total of 39 new deaths, with 25 confirmed, were reported Thursday, double the number of confirmed fatalities compared to the day before.
With 41,931 tests reported, 14.3% were confirmed positive.
Percentage of S.C. residents with at least 1 vaccine: 55.9%
Percentage of S.C. residents who have completed vaccination: 47.1%
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