COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Aug. 3

Tanasia Kenney
·2 min read

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

More than 1,700 new cases reported

At least 510,769 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 8,739 have died in South Carolina since March 2020, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Monday reported 1,794 new COVID-19 cases, about 400 more than were reported Friday. The state also reported one new coronavirus-related death.

At least 453 people in the state were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Monday, with 133 patients in the ICU, data show.

As of Monday, 15.1% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 5% or lower means there is a low level of community spread.

Roughly 45% of South Carolina residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and about 51% have received at least one dose, health officials say.

Sen. Lindsey Graham tests positive for COVID-19

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham revealed Monday that he tested positive for coronavirus after being vaccinated, The State reported.

The Republican lawmaker is the first U.S. senator to report a breakthrough infection, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “as the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen in a respiratory specimen collected from a person ≥14 days after they have completed all recommended doses of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized COVID-19 vaccine.”

“I was just informed by the House physician I have tested positive for #COVID19 even after being vaccinated,” he wrote on Twitter. “I started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night and went to the doctor this morning. I feel like I have a sinus infection and at present time I have mild symptoms.”

The lawmaker said he will self-isolate for the next 10 days as he works to recover from the virus.

Could mask mandates make a comeback in Beaufort County?

A rise in coronavirus cases across South Carolina has raised questions about the return of mask mandates in the Lowcountry. Local officials have given it some thought, according to The Island Packet.

While an executive order by Gov. Henry McMaster barred local governments from imposing mandatory mask rules, the order was issued during his COVID-19 state of emergency — which expired in June. Local officials now have some wiggle room to re-impose mask requirements, if they chose to do so, to help curb the spread of the delta variant.

Beaufort County Council Chair Joe Passiment told The Island Packet he would support a countywide mask mandate if the council reintroduced the issue. Hilton Head Mayor John McCann feels differently, however.

“Right now, the data doesn’t indicate we need it,” McCann said, according to the newspaper.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Silicon Valley and Hollywood worlds collide as David Ellison bids for Paramount

    David Ellison, 41, would not be the first rich guy to arrive in Hollywood with a fat bank account and dreams of making movies, though the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison boasts the rarest of attributes for a budding media mogul: a Silicon Valley pedigree. In an industry where many get their start fetching coffee or moving props, Ellison spent summers writing computer code for his father's software company and getting insights on the movie business from Pixar Animation Studios co-founder Steve Jobs. Ellison is orchestrating a multi-step transaction that would result in the merger of his independent studio, Skydance Media, with Paramount.

  • GE Aerospace lifts 2024 profit forecast on strong sales of engine parts, services

    GE Aerospace on Tuesday raised its full-year profit forecast on strong demand for jet-engine parts and services as carriers keep their older planes in the air to tide over a shortage of new commercial aircraft. The company now expects 2024 operating profit of $6.2 billion to $6.6 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of $6 billion to $6.5 billion. Since then, Wall Street analysts have been bullish on the prospects of the aerospace business, with some citing the dominant lead of CFM International, GE's joint venture with Safran, as a supplier to Airbus' A320neo family of jets, over competing engine maker Pratt & Whitney.

  • Israel military strikes northern Gaza in heaviest shelling in weeks

    Israel bombarded northern Gaza overnight in some of the heaviest shelling in weeks, causing panic amongst residents and flattening neighbourhoods in an area from which the Israeli army had previously down its troops, residents said on Tuesday. Army tanks made a new incursion east of Beit Hanoun on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, though they did not penetrate far into the city, residents and Hamas media said.

  • Sterling steadies after strong British activity data

    Data showing British businesses recorded their fastest growth in activity in nearly a year helped the pound steady against the dollar on Tuesday, after touching its lowest in five months the day before, but it remained under pressure against the euro. European data was also better than expected and the common currency at one point rose 0.2% against the pound to 86.43 pence, matching its previous day's three-month high, though these moves also failed to hold. Euro/sterling has traded in a tight range for months, but broke out on Friday when the euro climbed 0.65% after Bank of England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said the risk of British inflation getting stuck too high had receded and it might prove weaker than the BoE's most recent forecasts.

  • Trump poised to clinch $1.3 billion social media company stock award

    Donald Trump is set to secure on Tuesday a stock bonus worth $1.3 billion from the company that operates his social media app Truth Social, equivalent to about half the majority stake he already owns in it, thanks to the wild rally in its shares. The award will take the former U.S. President's overall stake in the company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), to $4.1 billion. While Trump has agreed not to sell any of his TMTG shares before September, the windfall represents a significant boost to his wealth, which Forbes pegs at $4.7 billion.

  • Sleep paralysis demons - and why they’re different to nightmares

    It sounds like the start of a horror film: a shadowy figure at the end of your bed, a faceless presence sitting on your chest. It doesn’t matter which of these terrifying scenarios plays out when you wake up from a deep sleep, they all have one thing in common: you can’t move, run away or cry out for help. You are fully conscious, yet you are frozen to the spot and unable to escape your sleep paralysis demon. So what is going on?

  • Doctor Who Fans Should Start Preparing Now For The 'Most Devastating Finale' Ever

    There will be tears.

  • Euro 2024 squads expanded to 26 players after motion passed at vote

    England and Scotland will be allowed to select 26 players for the European Championship this summer

  • Victoria Beckham x Mango: the 8 must-have buys from summer dresses, beach bags and sandals

    Victoria Beckham releases new collaboration with Mango — Joe Bromley has the key pieces to shop before summer

  • Snellgrove relishing chance to lay down Olympic marker

    Hannah Snellgrove is in the condition of her life heading to the Semaine Olympique Francaise and knows the event will act as her biggest marker ahead of her Olympic debut.

  • Summer interest rate cut hopes power FTSE to record high

    Markets currently rate the chance of a Bank of England interest rate cut in June as about 50-50

  • US agency poised to ban worker 'noncompete' agreements

    The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected on Tuesday to approve a rule that would ban agreements commonly signed by workers not to join their employers' competitors, which it says limit worker mobility and suppress their pay. The five-member FTC, which enforces antitrust laws and currently has a Democratic majority under President Joe Biden, is scheduled to meet later on Tuesday to vote on the rule first proposed in January 2023. The FTC, Democrats and worker advocates who support the rule say it is necessary to rein in the increasingly common practice of requiring workers to sign so-called "noncompete" agreements, even in lower-paying service industries such as fast food and retail.

  • Chelsea: Mykhailo Mudryk's lack of belief leaves Mauricio Pochettino with a tough decision

    Cole Palmer may be a doubt - leaving Blues boss needing to shake things up

  • Alzheimer's drug adoption in US slowed by doctors' skepticism

    Nine months into the U.S. launch of the first drug proven to slow the advance of Alzheimer's, Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi is facing an unexpected hurdle to widespread use: an entrenched belief among some doctors that treating the memory-robbing disease is futile. Alzheimer's experts had anticipated bottlenecks due to Leqembi's requirements, which include additional diagnostic tests, twice-monthly infusions and regular brain scans to guard against potentially lethal side effects. And those issues have played a role in slow adoption since the drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to interviews with 20 neurologists and geriatricians from rural, urban, academic and community practices in 19 states.

  • Mass arrests made as US campus protests over Gaza spread

    Demonstrators at NYU and Yale are arrested while Columbia cancels in-person classes for safety.

  • Does Wendy's Menu Have Vegan Options?

    Wendy's is probably not the first place you think of for vegan fare. However, some popular items are animal product-free, and others can be modified.

  • Kid Cudi updates fans on broken foot

    In a video shared to X on Monday 22 April, Kid Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, stated that although the injury was a "major setback", he was feeling OK. "This is what happens when a 40-year-old man tries to prance around offstage like he's 26, like he used to do back in the day," he shared. "I learned a valuable lesson: No more prancing around, jumping off stages." The Pursuit of Happiness rapper also revealed his foot was "a little sore" and that he had experienced "a lot of pain" the day prior.

  • Taylor Hill has 'back-to-school' moment at the Met Gala

    Taylor Hill says the Met Gala is a "back-to-school" moment for her because she can catch up with old friends.

  • Average petrol prices above 150p/litre for first time since November

    Data collated by website Fuel Prices Online shows typical pump prices reached 150.1p per litre on Monday.

  • Trump trial live updates: Judge could issue fine over gag order violations before first witness back on stand

    Former president’s historic ‘hush money’ election interference trial is underway in New York