In April of this year, Governor McMaster issued an executive order requiring most businesses close and ordering residents stay at home to reduce the rate at which COVID-19 spreads. In the months since then, South Carolinians have seen many of these restrictions ease up, as businesses have been allowed to reopen under the Governor\u2019s AccelerateSC reopening plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As businesses reopened, however, the rate of South Carolina COVID-19 infections has drastically increased. Despite the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases, South Carolina continues to allow more and more businesses to open their doors to the public. As a result, many employees \u2013 comfortable or not \u2013 are being called back into work. Necessarily, this will result in many workers being exposed to COVID-19<\/a> and, in turn, a greater burden placed on the shoulders of South Carolina medical workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the Steinberg Law Firm, LLC<\/a>, we represent healthcare workers<\/a> and other essential employees in workers\u2019 compensation claims<\/a> to help them recover the costs associated with their illness. Our South Carolina workers\u2019 compensation lawyers<\/a> have over 170 years of combined legal experience handling workers\u2019 compensation claims, and possess the knowledge and professionalism to handle your case from beginning to end with the utmost care and consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Statistics<\/u>:<\/strong>\nTotal COVID-19 cases in South Carolina \u2013 137,240 South Carolina Counties with the most COVID-19 cases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Determining the exact number of healthcare workers who have contracted COVID-19 is difficult. Initially, this was due to a lack of available testing. However, even as the access to COVID-19 tests increased, data were hard to come by because this information is not tracked by any official government agency. According to some estimates, at the end of July, upwards of 120,000 United States healthcare professionals had contracted COVID-19. And according to another source, at least 9,000 healthcare workers across the world have died as a result of complications due to the coronavirus. While the exact figures are not known, it is believed that healthcare workers have a three-times greater chance of contracting COVID-19 due to their occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the recent study, 242 people out of 100,000 tested positive for COVID-19 from the general community. However, 747 healthcare workers per 100,000 people tested positive for COVID-19. Healthcare workers who were required to use inadequate PPE were 1.3 times more likely to contract the virus, and those workers who were forced to reuse equipment were 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Not surprisingly, healthcare professionals who did not have PPE experienced a six-fold risk of developing the virus. Even for those healthcare workers who had effective PPE, caring for a patient who tested positive for COVID-19 resulted in a five-times greater risk for contracting the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nTotal COVID-19 deaths in South Carolina \u2013 3,188
\nTotal COVID-19 tests administered in South Carolina \u2013 1,218,911\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nHealthcare Workers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n