NEW, THE DATA ITSELF IS OLD. ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL, A PRIVATE LABORATORY SUBMITTED A MONTH WORTH OF DATA. THE LAB GIVE THEM THIS DATA THIS WEEKEND. THAT CAUSED A SPIKE IN THE REPORTED NEW CASES IN GREENVILLE COUNTY. IT IS NOT CLEAR WHY THIS HAPPENED. I CALLED DHEC TO ASK. I ALSO CALLED THE GREENVILLE COUNTY CHAIRMAN. BUTCH KIRVEN AND HE TELLS ME THE COUNTY HAS BEEN TRACKING THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF CASES FOR ALMOST TWO MONTHS. >> DHEC WAS USING NUMBERS THAT WERE INPUT FROM VARIOUS PLACES AROUND THE STATE, PRIVATE LABS. THEY DID NOT HAVE ANY STANDARDIZED CRITERIA FOR THE TIMELINESS. >> DHEC HAS CONTACTED THIS LACTOSE PLAN THAT CASES OF COVID-19 ARE URGENTLY REPORTABLE WITHIN 24 HOURS TO DHEC TO PREVENT THIS FROM OCCURRING. >> WE WANT ACCURATE REPORTING ON A TIMELY BASIS SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE ON THE TRENDLINE SO THE INCIDENCE OF CASES AND THE SEVERITY OF THEM, WE HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT THIS I
Private lab sends month’s worth of COVID-19 positive test results to DHEC over weekend
DHEC “didn’t have any standardized criteria for timeliness” for reporting coronavirus data, Greenville County Chairman says
Over the last two days, Greenville County had more COVID-19 cases reported.But while the state had just learned this new information, the data itself is old.According to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), a private laboratory submitted a month’s worth of positive COVID-19 test results for Greenville County over the weekend. DHEC wrote in a news release that this caused a spike of new reported COVID-19 cases in Greenville County.WYFF4 reached out to DHEC to ask why this happened. WYFF4’s Renee Wunderlich also called Greenville County Council Chairman Butch Kirven.He told her the county has been tracking the average number of cases for almost two months. “We were kind of wondering what was going on there, finally found out today – thanks for your call, by the way, your inquiry – and thanks to our emergency management division, that DHEC was using numbers that were input from various labs around the state, private labs, and didn’t have any standardized criteria for timeliness and when they were going to report,” said Kirven, “I think that DHEC caught the problem and they have standardized the criteria I have informed all of the labs the private labs that are inputting the data of what that criteria is and timelines when they have to report number of cases at that particular date and time so – I think they’ll comply with that and we will have more accurate data.”A news release from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control reads, quote, “DHEC has contacted this lab to explain that cases of COVID-19 are urgently reportable within 24 hours to DHEC to prevent this from recurring.”“It’s very important we have accurate data and accurate reporting on a timely this is so that we know where we are at any given point in time on the trend line, on the incidence of cases and the severity of them,” Kirven said, “I have every confidence that’s where we are now after this aberration we experienced over the weekend.”It’s unclear at this time why these results weren’t reported to DHEC sooner.Chairman Kirven tells me that he’s been told by DHEC through Greenville County’s emergency department the delay happened because there weren’t any real requirements explaining when to report results.WYFF4 reached out to that office asking the name of the lab and why did it take that lab so long to report these positive coronavirus tests. WYFF4 has also asked for the name of the private lab. Additional coronavirus resources: Tracking COVID-19 curve of cases, deaths in the Carolinas, Georgia Latest update on coronavirus cases, latest headlines in Carolinas, Georgia COVID-19 maps of Carolinas, Georgia: Latest coronavirus cases by countySign up for WYFF News 4 coronavirus daily newsletter
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. —
Over the last two days, Greenville County had more COVID-19 cases reported.
But while the state had just learned this new information, the data itself is old.
According to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), a private laboratory submitted a month’s worth of positive COVID-19 test results for Greenville County over the weekend.
DHEC wrote in a news release that this caused a spike of new reported COVID-19 cases in Greenville County.
WYFF4 reached out to DHEC to ask why this happened.
WYFF4’s Renee Wunderlich also called Greenville County Council Chairman Butch Kirven.
He told her the county has been tracking the average number of cases for almost two months.
“We were kind of wondering what was going on there, finally found out today – thanks for your call, by the way, your inquiry – and thanks to our emergency management division, that DHEC was using numbers that were input from various labs around the state, private labs, and didn’t have any standardized criteria for timeliness and when they were going to report,” said Kirven, “I think that DHEC caught the problem and they have standardized the criteria I have informed all of the labs the private labs that are inputting the data of what that criteria is and timelines when they have to report number of cases at that particular date and time so – I think they’ll comply with that and we will have more accurate data.”
A news release from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control reads, quote, “DHEC has contacted this lab to explain that cases of COVID-19 are urgently reportable within 24 hours to DHEC to prevent this from recurring.”
“It’s very important we have accurate data and accurate reporting on a timely this is so that we know where we are at any given point in time on the trend line, on the incidence of cases and the severity of them,” Kirven said, “I have every confidence that’s where we are now after this aberration we experienced over the weekend.”
It’s unclear at this time why these results weren’t reported to DHEC sooner.
Chairman Kirven tells me that he’s been told by DHEC through Greenville County’s emergency department the delay happened because there weren’t any real requirements explaining when to report results.
WYFF4 reached out to that office asking the name of the lab and why did it take that lab so long to report these positive coronavirus tests. WYFF4 has also asked for the name of the private lab.
Additional coronavirus resources:
