Lancaster County nursing home reports 27 COVID-19 cases WSOC TV

May 2024 · 3 minute read

LANCASTER, S.C. — On Tuesday, Lancaster County reported a spike in new COVID-19 cases, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control. In the past week, daily cases never rose higher than 5. The number was 27 on Tuesday.

Emergency Management director Darren Player thought it was a mistake at first.

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“We thought the numbers might be in error. We’ve seen numbers from DHEC later corrected and subtracted from our total before,” he said.

However, the number is correct -- the highest daily total the county has seen since tracking of COVID-19 cases began in February.

Lancaster Health and Rehabilitation on Highway 9, formerly known as the Lancaster Convalescent Center, just reported the same number of cases of the virus -- 27.

The cases were listed on the nursing home's website as of May 31.

A statement from LHR said the numbers are the result of recent testing of every staff member and resident. LHR is following all CDC guidelines, restricting visitors, monitoring residents, providing PPE for all staff and screening them before and after shifts.

DHEC recently finished testing more than 40,000 people at 194 nursing homes statewide.

It's not clear if the 27 cases reported at LHR completely matched the 27 reported by Lancaster County Tuesday, because there are often delays from some labs. However, even if the spike in new cases in Lancaster County was mostly located at one place, there's still a concern about community spread, Player said.

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"The problem we run into are the people who are asymptomatic. They may have it and not know it but yet, they can spread it," he said.

Now, the only people allowed inside LHR are staff. A stop sign on the door prevents anyone from entering, and there's a phone number to call.

LHR Director Jeff Skinner told Channel 9 he was not allowed to comment on the situation at the home but pointed us to the information posted on the website, detailing how they are handling the large number of cases.

Skinner said when DHEC it tested roughly 300 people.

On Wednesday, DHEC reported 15 COVID-19 cases for Lancaster County, which is higher than average during the pandemic.

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