The governor’s accelerateSC task force met for their second meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss how best to safely reopen the SC economy in the state.
Each of these task force meetings is discussing a different aspect of the response, including preventing the spread of COVID-19, expanding testing capacity and reach, how to respond to new cases and improving the supply of personal protective equipment.
This meeting had a heavy focus on preventing the spread of the disease as businesses reopen.
A few groups of people in the state were brought up as being most at risk for the disease and needing to be heavily considered during the reopening process. These groups include the elderly, those in very rural areas and impoverished individuals.
The importance of communication during reopening of businesses was brought up and discussed early in the meeting.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell notably expressed this concern, pointing out that any decisions made and protective measures put in place for the safety of the public must be clearly communicated on all levels between government, businesses, employees and customers.
She said that this was important to keep the public informed and prepared to remain as safe as possible while around others.
Bell and others also discussed the importance of surveillance as businesses reopen so that potential cases can be identified, quarantined and treated quick enough to minimize the spread of the disease.
This and other aspects of communication were pointed out by Bell and others as a weakness of the state that needs to be addressed.
“It’s really important that we get our tests in a reportable manner that are actionable. It’s critical,” said Medical University of South Carolina President Dr. David Cole. “I think we have the capability, and we’re getting the capacity. But we have to wrap our arms around it so that it can be used in an actual manner. A hundred tests in an isolated community that somehow just sits there is exactly what it does. It doesn’t help anybody.”
A few different thoughts were discussed on this topic, but the core idea reached was that the state and local governments need to make sure data is reported and catalogued so that information can be as complete and up-to-date as possible.