By Fred Palm, contributing editor | The ongoing raging COVID-19 community transmission that is expanding, like this year’s wildfires and tropical storms, will continue to impact children beyond this season. It is not over yet for them. Nor will it end for them. Children’s lives, like the lives of adults, are being damaged in many ways. But children have much less experience to return to. Adults have memory and lived perspectives.
Staff reports | More than 200,000 South Carolinians have been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The news came over the weekend as Palmetto State residents enjoyed Thanksgiving with family and friends in what many believe may signal the trigger of a surge on top of a surge.
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: Governor should create new state health testing office
COMMENTARY, Brack: Sanford is on target about debt, deficit
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
NEWS BRIEFS: More coronavirus testing needs to be done, officials say
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
MYSTERY PHOTO: Dock scene you may recognize
CALENDAR: Lowcountry Listens back for round 3 of virtual music
NEW BOOK: Ever wonder where the Atlantic Ocean started?
4/5ths of current lawmakers haven’t voted on Heritage Act. Only 30 of the state’s current 170 legislators cast votes 20 years ago on whether the state should protect monuments from removal.
By John Tecklenburg, mayor | When the City of Charleston issued the stay-at-home order a few weeks ago, the primary goal was to “flatten the curve” so as to not overwhelm our hospital capacity and to greatly reduce the spread of contagion. I have been encouraged by the most recent numbers, which is a testament to our citizens staying smart, staying distanced and listening to medical experts. The plan to “flatten the curve” has and is continuing to work and we must be vigilant to keep Charleston from becoming a “hotspot”.
As we continue to flatten the curve, it is time to ready our strategic reopening to avoid any resurgence or spikes of the virus. I view this challenge in three ways:
* Protecting the lives and wellness of our citizens;
* Keeping our hospitals from being overwhelmed;
* Maintaining economic activity and core government services until a vaccine or treatment becomes available.
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: Tecklenburg outlines three stages of reopening Charleston
COMMENTARY, Brack: Intentional acts of kindness soothe during crisis
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: South Carolina Ports Authority
PHOTO ESSAY: The beauty of Crab Bank
NEWS BRIEFS: How you can “adopt” a Charleston restaurant during crisis
FEEDBACK: Tree butchery continues in 2020
MYSTERY PHOTO: Classic white mansion
CALENDAR: Get your art fix online
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Camp Sevier
By Fred Palm, contributing editor | Our South Carolina emergency plan is an all-event skeleton. Depending upon the particular threat, customization to the plan is made. Even in the overall skeleton plan, any epidemic event is a second thought found in an appendix (14-1) to the general model for action. In these plans, there is no pandemic appendix, so with COVID-19, we presumptively start as if the virus is an infection.
An epidemic requires a swift model that leaps ahead of the presenting of requests for medical services. State-level authorizations and equipment requests passed up the line will not be delivered in time. In fact, little time exists if an infection doubles every five days.
Social science surveys estimate the size of something, the incidence in the population. In this election season, for example, we are bombarded with polling data about what percentage of voters, likely Republicans or Democrats, are expected to behave in a particular way.
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: Management of an epidemic requires surveillance monitoring
COMMENTARY, Brack: Renew commitment to protecting civil rights of all Americans
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston RiverDogs
NEWS BRIEFS: Schools across the state close to deal with coronavirus
FEEDBACK: Send us a letter or two
MYSTERY PHOTO: White flower among azaleas
CALENDAR: Call first before you head out
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The flu that you prepare for every winter kills about 100 South Carolinians every year, according to state health data.
To make sure you don’t get it, you do common-sense things: Get a flu shot, wash your hands more, cover your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze, and stay at home when you’re sick.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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