Four new novel coronavirus COVID-19 cases have just been identified in South Carolina. These 4 new cases come after the 2 initial cases were announced on March 6th in Camden, SC (about 1 hour south of Charlotte).
Yesterday afternoon, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control released the following update about the new 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.
- The fourth new case is man from Spartanburg County with no known connection, at this time, to any of the other presumptive positive cases. He is not hospitalized and is currently isolated at home. He had recently traveled to Italy.
“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.”
At this point, there have been 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of North Carolina.
According to the CDC, patients with confirmed CoVID-19 infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of:
- fever
- cough
- shortness of breath
CDC believes at this time that symptoms of CoVID-19 may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 after exposure. This is based on what has been seen previously as the incubation period of MERS viruses.
Some of the best ways to protect against the coronavirus include;
- Wash your hands often with antiviral soap, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are are coughing or sneezing.
- Using NAC (N-acetyl L-cysteine)
- Using probiotics (especially those containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium)
- Immunity boosting vitamins, including; zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D3
If you have any questions about CoVID-19 you can call 866-462-3821 or submit questions online at ncpoisoncontrol.org.