DHEC COVID-19 Numbers Update; GA Company To Begin COVID-19 Testing in Westminster

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced 1,175 new confirmed cases and 23 new probable cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, 45 additional confirmed deaths and 5 new probable deaths. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 94,837, probable cases to 635, confirmed deaths to 1,819, and 75 probable deaths. Oconee County saw an addition of 9 new cases on Wednesday, but no additional deaths. In Pickens County, 10 new cases were confirmed, and in Anderson County there were 20 confirmed cases and one new probable case. Both Pickens and Anderson Counties reported one death each related to COVID-19 in elderly patients.

Starting on Wednesday of next week, the Georgia-based company COVID Consortium plans to test people without insurance and those paying cash, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the parking lot of the Westminster Community Depot. The company works with multiple labs and is a recipient of federal monies to be used to provide tests to the public. A group of community members in Westminster had expressed interest in creating greater opportunities for testing area residents, which is what brought the company to Oconee County.