Prisma Health held one of four statewide COVID-19 community testing events at the Sumter County Civic Center on July 7. Cassandra Waddell, supervisor of administrative support for Prisma said nearly 300 tests were conducted. The community testing, primarily done in partnership with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and state agencies, are aimed at reaching populations who may not otherwise have access to traditional testing or online virtual visits.
Find a COVID-19 testing site near you
How has COVID-19 impacted you? Share your story with The Sumter Item.
Carolina Grove is one of several restaurants in Sumter with the Palmetto Priority certification from the state. Palmetto Priority is a formal commitment made by South Carolina restaurateurs to provide a clean and safe environment for their staff and customers to demonstrate the extensive precautions that they are taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
How to navigate restaurants during COVID-19: A guide to Palmetto Priority in Sumter, Clarendon, Lee counties

Our newsroom is providing continuous coverage of the local effects of COVID-19 – verifying facts, crossing over conversations, offering direct information resources and giving voice to leaders and experts that can help. Vital information is free to the public as our newsroom continues to work from home or on the front lines to bring you what you need and want to know. To help us continue this mission, please subscribe and help us sustain this ongoing effort.
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Ricky Simmons, youth pastor and director of the House of Hope at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, goes through boxes of food items that will be distributed to congregants and community members in need.
Sumter mirrors SC, nation in COVID-19's disproportionate impact on African-Americans
PHOTOS BY MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM Giovanni Sanchez Mercantini salutes as the Crestwood High School Jr. ROTC marches by during the Veterans Day parade through downtown Sumter in 2019.
Sumter County Veterans Association cancels Veterans Day parade because of COVID-19
Lisa Anderson, left, who teaches kindergarten at Manchester Elementary School, works with students in and out of the classroom on a hybrid day last week.
Hybrid teaching in Sumter School District: 'A day-to-day thing'
Free COVID-19 testing held in Sumter on Tuesday, Oct. 20
Get your scare on this Halloween in the Sumter area
Local resources
Where are masks required in Sumter, Clarendon, Lee counties? Sumter County Council members are asking residents to wear masks in public, but they are not requiring people to do so. A resolution "urging" residents to wear face coverings when in public in the county was passed during a public meeting …
Here's a list of resources, accounts for parents with at-home, virtual learning children during COVID-19 This page is dedicated to providing parents with resources, ideas and inspiration for keeping kids engaged, entertained and learning while school is out due to the coronavirus. Most of this is aimed …
How to make a cloth face covering at home with or without sewing Here is some information and tutorials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to wear a cloth face covering, how to make one and why. The CDC is now recommending everyone …
A Q&A about filing for unemployment in South Carolina during COVID-19 With the number of people applying for unemployment rising daily, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce offers the following questions and answers:   Q. If someone can’t …
Your guide to Sumter-area takeout and delivery during conoravirus restrictions  

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A student does schoolwork at the M.H. Newton Family Life Center recently during the coronavirus pandemic. As the pandemic continues, suspension of public comments is still in place for Sumter School District's Board of Trustees meetings.
Public still can't participate in meetings with Sumter School District board On April 6 at its first meeting during the pandemic, Sumter School District's Board of Trustees voted to temporarily suspend public participation from its monthly board meetings. Six months later - still in the midst of COVID-19, with virtual …
Sumter High School student leaders from the Class of 2023 and 2024 with student government hold a drive-through orientation for the new freshman class.
'An orientation with a COVID twist' for Sumter High School Class of 2024 With the Class of 2024 not getting the traditional Sumter High School welcome, the student council from the Class of 2023 teamed up with the student leaders of 2024 to create a new, safe and in-person orientation amid the coronavirus …
MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM McLeod Health Clarendon and DHEC partnered for a drive-through testing facility recently in Summerton. Three chances to be tested for coronavirus for free are coming up in Clarendon.
Free COVID-19 testing site will be offered Saturday in Clarendon County This article is free to the public. It’s the right thing to do as a public service to our community. If you find this article helpful or informative and want to support our continued coverage, …
Construction of a new gym is well underway and is slated for completion in the Spring of 2021. It will be connected to the current Haynsworth Street facility, which will undergo a renovation in the second phase of the project. The construction industry has been mostly spared by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with jobs available statewide.
Lifeboat jobs: You can build a career now in construction industry This article is free to the public. It’s the right thing to do as a public service to our community. If you find this article helpful or informative and want to support our continued coverage, …
Sumter High School band members practice marching with their instruments recently with coronavirus protocol in place to avoid spreading the virus.
Marching to a safe beat: Sumter’s high school bands follow guidelines to perform in pandemic After high school football players were given the thumbs up to play this season, three Sumter high school band directors collaborated to create a proposal that allowed their students to march on amid the pandemic as well. "Things are a lot …

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Senior Clinical Research Nurse Ajithkumar Sukumaran prepares the COVID-19 vaccine to administer to a volunteer at a clinic in London. U.K. researchers said Tuesday they are preparing to begin a controversial experiment that will infect healthy volunteers with the new coronavirus to study the disease in hopes of speeding up development of a vaccine.
UK to infect healthy volunteers in vaccine research trial LONDON - U.K. researchers are preparing to infect healthy young volunteers with the virus that causes COVID-19, becoming the first to announce plans to use the controversial technique to study the disease and potentially speed up development of a …
South Carolina authorities break up huge party amid pandemic COLUMBIA (AP) — Authorities in South Carolina broke up a party where at least 2,000 people were gathered without taking precautions to prevent spreading the coronavirus, fire officials said.The …
Mid-November earliest Pfizer can seek virus vaccine OK NEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer Inc. cannot request emergency authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine before the third week of November - and that's if everything goes well, the company's CEO announced Friday. Another leading U.S. contender, Moderna Inc., …
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An employee manually inspects syringes of the SARS CoV-2 vaccine for COVID-19 produced by Sinovac at its factory in Beijing. China is rapidly increasing the number of people receiving its experimental coronavirus vaccines.
China rapidly expands use of experimental COVID-19 vaccines TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - China is rapidly increasing the number of people receiving its experimental coronavirus vaccines, with a city offering one to the general public and a biotech company providing another free to students going abroad. The city …
Feds unveil plan to get coronavirus shots to nursing homes WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials on Friday unveiled a plan to get yet-to-be-approved coronavirus vaccines to nursing home residents free of charge, enlisting two national pharmacy …

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Sumter's Virtual COVID-19 Response.

Sumter's COVID-19 Response - Featured Guest: Dr. Clay Lowder, Colonial Healthcare

We went live with Dr. Lowder via Zoom earlier today and got all the latest on what he and his team at Colonial Healthcare are doing to curb the spread of this virus. Be sure to check back with us …

Sumter's COVID-19 Response - Featured Guest: Dr. Penelope Martin-Knox, Sumter School District Superintendent

We went live with the superintendent via Zoom earlier today and got all the latest on what she and her team at the Sumter School District are doing to keep things moving smoothly for the …

Sumter's COVID-19 Response - Featured Guest: Mayor Joe McElveen, City of Sumter

We talked to the mayor live on Zoom earlier today, with the public also viewing and submitting questions, about the city’s response to this pandemic. He gave some insightful and honest thoughts …
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