DHEC: More than 10,000 South Carolinians have now lost their lives to COVID-19

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control says the number of South Carolinians who died because of COVID-19 is now past 10,000. Health officials say the state passed this mart Wednesday, when 15 deaths were reported.

DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer released a statement Wednesday, expressing his sympathy to those who lost loved ones and have been affected by the virus.

“While statistics are useful to measure data, there is no statistic for grief or comfort in a milestone for those who have lost family members and loved ones,” said Dr. Simmer.

Dr. Simmer went on to call on South Carolinians to get vaccinated if they are eligible.

“There is only one way to prevent more lives from being lost, and that is through vaccination. Hundreds of millions of Americans have been fully vaccinated, including nearly two million South Carolinians. But our work is not done. That number only represents 45 percent of South Carolinians eligible for the vaccine, and it does not count all those aged 11-and-under who are not yet eligible for the vaccine but who depend on the rest of us to protect them,” said Simmer. “Although one month ago it looked like the pandemic was improving, the arrival of the Delta variant has created a surge in new cases and deaths that we have to take seriously. Until we reach a critical percentage of South Carolinians vaccinated that can stifle COVID-19’s spread, we are not out of danger. And the longer that takes, the more time the virus has to mutate into new, harder-to-control variants.”

To find where you can get your COVID-19 vaccine, visit vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov.