No confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Carolina as of Thursday, senator says

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) – As of Thursday, there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Carolina.

© Provided by Myrtle Beach-Florence WMBF-TV The 2019 Novel Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan, China.

That was the update Sen. Marlon Kimpson said lawmakers received from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

No confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Carolina as of today according to DHEC.

— Sen. Marlon Kimpson (@KimpsonForSC) March 5, 2020

Kimpson, a Democratic lawmaker from Charleston who represents District 42, is a member of the Senate Medical Affairs committee. DHEC officials were providing the committee with an update on the coronavirus threat on Thursday.

DHEC officials announced Wednesday they were monitoring 13 people for possible infection. The department had completed monitoring of an additional 49.

What is the difference between isolation and quarantine? Isolation is for people who are already sick. Quarantine is for people who are not sick, but may have been exposed.

Find and download COVID-19 educational materials at https://t.co/WVVgjBSuxt. pic.twitter.com/ls0bdotl7v

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) March 5, 2020

RELATED STORY: DHEC monitoring 13 in S.C. for coronavirus, but no confirmed cases found so far

While S.C. officials said no coronavirus patients have been confirmed, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday the state has its first confirmed case.

Cases have also been confirmed in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.

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