As the number of positive coronavirus tests in South Carolina grew to 47, Gov. Henry McMaster ordered gatherings of 50 or more people halted in order to slow COVID-19's spread.

McMaster also ordered that state tax deadlines, both to file and pay, be delayed until June 1, and asked medical centers to reserve time and equipment for necessary and coronavirus-related procedures.

South Carolina had 47 reported cases in 13 counties as of Tuesday afternoon.

The new cases announced Tuesday include one in Beaufort County, two in Charleston County, one in Calhoun County, five in Kershaw County, one in Lexington County, one in Richland County, one in York County, one in Greenville County and one in Horry County.

A case previously identified as a case from Kershaw County was actually a Fairfield County case, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials said.

The first South Carolina patient to die after contracting COVID-19, identified only as an elderly man in Lexington County, was reported on Monday.

One of the state's largest health systems is setting aside an entire hospital to care for people who become sick in the pandemic.

Prisma Health said its North Greenville Hospital, normally a long-term care facility, will be dedicated to caring for coronavirus patients.

The rest of the system's hospitals, which span the Midlands and the Upstate, will continue to care for patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The change at the 45-bed North Greenville Hospital will give "additional capacity if it's needed."

The Greenville-based health system, which manages about a quarter of all the hospital beds in the state, needed to do some reshuffling to prepare for the step. Patients in the intensive care unit were moved to other hospitals in the Upstate.

Teams are dividing part of the hospital into several negative-pressure units, according to a news release from the health system. Those rooms prevent air from circulating throughout the facility and keep the disease from spreading within.

The hospital's emergency department will remain open to anyone in need of urgent care.

Several cities and counties in the Charleston area declared states of emergency Monday, and Berkeley County issued a similar declaration Tuesday. Public gatherings have been restricted to encourage social distancing among residents.

The Charleston County Council gave itself authority to suspend its plastic bag ban and impose a curfew. Chairman Elliott Summey said a countywide curfew is "not on the table at this time" and that language in the emergency ordinance is a "placeholder."

The county and city of Charleston will suspend collection of accommodations and hospitality taxes for 90 days. Summey said the city and county had asked the Governor's Office and Department of Revenue to do the same. Later Tuesday, the Department of Revenue said it is providing more time to file returns and pay taxes, with those due from April 1 to June 1 extended to June 1.

Summey said the county's intent was to "mitigate issues" for small businesses, like restaurants. McMaster encouraged restaurants during his Tuesday news conference to increase takeout services as a way to make up for the loss of inside dining.

Starting Wednesday, Charleston County's Probate Court will prohibit general public access. Court staff will accept filings, pleadings, motions, applications and other documents through the mail, online and by drop-off, county spokesman Shawn Smetana said in an email.

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After this week's scheduled hearings, all non-emergency cases will be addressed once the pandemic ends. The county's drug court, mental health court and veterans treatment court sessions have been postponed. Marriage licenses will not be issued after Tuesday.

Many agencies have grown more cautious as the number of cases in South Carolina rise each day.

Three Charleston County sheriff’s deputies have self-quarantined as a precaution after a family member of one of them began feeling ill, Capt. Roger Antonio, the sheriff's spokesman, said. The deputies did not show symptoms and a family member was later cleared of any illness related to COVID-19.

Activities in many areas have ground to a halt, such as in Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island. Residents of both are used to preparing for hurricanes — stocking up on supplies, being prepared to evacuate or hunker down, possibly without power or water.

“People know what to do during a hurricane, but this, this is unprecedented,” said Isle of Palms Mayor Jimmy Carroll.

All evictions statewide have also been halted, South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Beatty ordered on Tuesday.

The order, postponing evictions until after May 1, allows for exceptions involving “essential services and/or harm to person or property.”

State Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, hosted a small news conference with councilmen at North Charleston City Hall to raise concerns about the Lowcountry’s homeless population.

With the existence of “tent cities” or locations where people who are homeless tend to heavily group, he and some council members believe them to be neglected areas where the virus could spread.

At an emergency session with statewide representatives scheduled for Thursday, Gilliard is hoping to highlight at least two pieces of legislation that could benefit the population.

One is a bill that would push for the publishing of detailed information booklets that local law enforcement would be required to distribute where homeless residents live. Most of that information would include resources helping homeless individuals find access to shelter.

Another piece of legislation is a joint resolution that would push for a study on South Carolina’s homeless population. With this, the state would potentially have more concrete data on the community, he said.

After schools were closed from Monday through at least March 31, South Carolina education leaders planned to seek a waiver to cut the number of state-mandated class instruction days. S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said she has begun conversations with McMaster’s office about providing relief to the requirement that the state’s 788,000 students receive 180 days of instruction a year to meet graduation requirements.

The S.C. Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to give the state’s public health agency, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, access to $45 million it may need over the next six months to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, the pandemic is migrating to the employment sector. Verizon closed its call center near Columbia this week after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the company confirmed. Once the telecommunications company became aware of the test, the call center in Elgin was closed and given a deep cleaning. Any employees who were in close contact with employee who tested positive were informed of their possible exposure.

Verizon is having other call centers and employees who work from home take customer service calls to make up for the lost capacity, a spokesperson said. Verizon employs about 1,400 workers for call center work in Richland County, according to the Central SC economic development organization.

In addition, two restaurant groups in the Lowcountry announced on Tuesday they were laying off almost 1,500 people between the two. Some were being paid through March and others were being laid off this week.

David Slade, Mike Fitts, Andy Shain, Jessica Holdman, Seanna Adcox, Jerrel Floyd, Mikaela Porter, MK Wildeman and Joseph Cranney contributed to this report.