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WEIGHTS ONTO TESTS FORK OVID 19 THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST. DR. LIN BELL SAYS RIGHT NOW TO WOMEN BEING MONITORED ONE IN HER 30S FROM CHARLESTON COUNTY HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY SHE TRAVELED TO FRANCE AND ITALY SHE’S ISOLATED AT HOME. THE OTHER IS IN HER 80S FROM KERSHAW COUNTY. SHE’S CURRENTLY IN A MIDLANDS HOSPITAL HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY THEY DON’T BELIEVE SHE LEFT THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. WE’RE STILL INVESTIGATING IN THE POTENTIAL SOURCE OF HER INFECTION BOTH WOMEN WERE TESTED ON MARCH 5TH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS TESTS CAME BACK POSITIVE, BUT IT WILL BE 24 TO AFTER THE CDC DOUBLE CHECKS. BEFORE WE KNOW IF IT’S CORONAVIRUS THE HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY SYMPTOMS OF THIS. CORONA VIRUS CAN BE SIMILAR TO THE FLU FEVER SNEEZING AND A DRY COUGH THE ABILITY TO MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE ILLNESSES WITH A DIAGNOSTIC TEST IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE BECAUSE BLUE IS CIRCULATING SO WIDELY IN THE COMMUNITY. IT’S MUCH MORE LIKELY THAT PEOPLE WHO PRESENT WITH THOSE SYMPTOMS WILL ACTUALLY HAVE THE FLU OR OTHER COMMON RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES, BUT AS LEARN TODAY, IT’S UNCLEAR SERIOUSLY, HOW ACCURATE THE TEST KIT IS FOR COVET 19 THE TEST KIT THAT’S AVAILABLE IS SPECIFIC FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF COVET 19 AND NOT OTHER CONDITIONS AND WE BELIEVE IT’S A HIGHLY RELIABLE TEST. SO NUMBER YOU CAN’T GIVE ME A NUMBER. I DON’T I CAN’T BECAUSE IT’S A NEW TEST. I CAN’T GIVE YOU THE NUMBER OF THE SENSITIVITY AND THE SPECIFICITY OF THIS PARTICULAR TEST FOR DETECTING THIS PARTICULAR VIRUS. DHEC SAYS THESE TWO CASES OF POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS

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South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged everyone to remain calm at a news conference he held alongside state public health officials Saturday morning at the state's Emergency Operations Center in West Columbia.(Watch full news conference below)Latest from DHEC | CDC website"Health care authorities in South Carolina have been preparing for this eventuality and there is no reason for public alarm. DHEC is working with the CDC on confirmation for these cases. South Carolinans should continue to follow recommendations and information provided by official sources," McMaster said in a statement sent Friday. >>Related: Two cases of coronavirus in NC | Greenville officials talk about preparations | Greenville County Schools talks about preparationsDHEC is investigating two possible cases of 2019 novel coronavirus in South Carolina.>>Johns Hopkins University tracks worldwide COVID-19 cases | Mobile versionThe two cases, which health authorities are presuming to be positive, are not linked. According to DHEC, one patient is a woman in her 80's from Kershaw County. She has been hospitalized and is in isolation. State health officials believe she has not recently left South Carolina, and are currently looking for the source of her illness. >>Related: Latest on coronavius worldwideThe second patient is a woman in her 30s from Charleston County who recently traveled to France and Italy. She did not require hospitalization and is self-isolated at home, DHEC officials said.The Medical University of South Carolina released this statement Friday night:"MUSC received confirmation from DHEC of a presumed positive COVID19 test for one of our team members the evening of March 6."This individual self-identified to DHEC upon learning that community transmission had occurred in an area recently visited during a trip to Europe; she had not returned to work and still has not at this time."Our team member practiced excellent public health and social responsibility by pursuing testing, taking appropriate hygienic precautions and self-quarantining at home. The patient had mild illness and has been asymptomatic for the past three days and is committed to remaining in self-quarantine for the remainder of the CDC-recommended 14-day timeframe."We support our team member's rights to privacy and protection of health information and will not confirm or deny name, role or any other identifying information. We want to emphasize the informed and calm response this team member took and we want to publicly commend her for doing so."Samples sent to DHEC's Public Health Laboratory tested positive for COVID-19, and results must be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DHEC says it will provide updates when those test results are available, which typically takes 24-48 hours. >>Related: Georgia identifies 2 confirmed cases | SC Gov. McMaster talks about state preparationsDHEC has currently tested 10 people for COVID-19, including the two women presumed to be positive. The eight remaining tests are negative, DHEC says. >>Related: Clemson study abroad students take precautions | Upstate hospital preparingDHEC says it has around 1,000 kits and can test 80 to 100 people a day for the 2019 novel coronavirus. Health officials say symptoms of this coronavirus can be similar to the flu: fever, sneezing and a dry cough. Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist, said, “The ability to make a distinction between those illnesses with the diagnostic test is important because flu is circulating so widely in the community, much more likely that people who present with those symptoms will actually have the flu or other common respiratory illnesses." But it's unclear precisely how accurate those test kits are for the novel coronavirus. "This year's kit that’s available is specific for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and not other conditions. And we believe it’s a highly reliable test," said Bell.Bell said at the news conference Saturday that monitored isolation can be enforced if those who test positive for COVID-19 don't voluntarily keep themselves safely away from others until they are well again. “We do this for other communicable diseases, and in some instances, it would mean that that they would have to be put in a certain facility or in lockdown," she said. "Individuals are well enough to be kept at home, the vast majority of them will have symptoms that will resolve in a matter of a few days. Moving to that next level of mandatory isolation is unlikely to be required.”