SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina company confirms one of its employees is a presumed positive case of coronavirus and is taking precautions.
Ritraman CEO Lucio Siano told news outlets in Spartanburg that a male employee tested positive based on a sample analyzed in South Carolina. Siano said the employee had come back from Italy on March 2 through a flight from Charlotte.
The car parts company said they would spend Monday sanitizing the plant, and would reopen Tuesday.
DHEC had said Sunday the man had no symptoms until the day after he returned and he had not traveled to any other U.S. airport. They have no reason to believe there was any risk to airport patrons.
The man is not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home.
DHEC said Sunday there were six presumptive positive cases in South Carolina, up from the two that had previously been reported. Gov. Henry McMaster is set to speak at 3 p.m. about the coronavirus cases in the state.
Here is the information on the other cases:
- Two of these four new cases are direct contacts (meaning close face-to-face contact) with the Camden elderly woman who was announced as a presumptive positive on March 6. One of these two individuals is a woman who has hospitalized for reasons unrelated to COVID-19 and is isolated at this time. The other individual, an elderly man, was temporarily admitted to a healthcare facility, was discharged, and is currently isolated at home.
- The third new case is a man from Camden with no known connection, at this time, to the other presumptive positive cases from Camden. He was evaluated at a healthcare facility, was not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home.
Updated Information
- The elderly female from Camden was transferred to a health care facility in the Midlands on March 6 to receive a higher level of care. She remains isolated.
- The woman from Charleston County is symptom-free and continuing to self-monitor.
“Presumptive positive” means samples from these individuals tested positive for COVID-19 at DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory, however, these results are required to be confirmed by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It takes 24-48 hours for the CDC to confirm samples after they’re received.
“We now have evidence of community spread that’s likely to be causing these initial cases in Camden in Kershaw County and the risk of spread to other communities is possible, as seen in other states across the country,” said Dr. Linda Bell, State Epidemiologist. “We are working with the CDC and state and local officials to limit community spread while continuing with our protocol for identifying travel-related cases in the state.”
In line with CDC guidance, the department does not recommend closing schools or canceling public events at this time. DHEC will monitor absentee rates in schools and businesses as well as reports of illness in the community to determine if or when closures may be recommended. DHEC also is providing updated recommendations to schools and day care facilities, colleges and universities, and organizers of large events. That updated information is publicly available at scdhec.gov/COVID19. DHEC continues to be in communication with state agencies and community partners.
Residents who are showing symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath should call their personal doctor or healthcare provider. If an individual doesn’t have a primary care physician, MUSC Health is providing free telehealth screening to all South Carolinians. Anyone experiencing symptoms can visit MUSC.care and use the promo code COVID19 and be screened without having to leave your home.
The DHEC Care Line is available to provide general information about COVID-19 by calling 1-855-472-3432 from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week. The Care Line hours are extended to 9 p.m. tonight. Because call volume has been high, callers are urged to be patient if they receive a busy signal and try their call at a later time. For general questions about COVID-19, visit the DHEC website at scdhec.gov/COVID19 or the CDC website here.