Community & COVID-19 2020

COMMUNITY & COVID -19

TOGETHER

FROM A

DISTANCE

A LOOK AT HOW COVID-19 HAS IMPACTED SUMTER, CLARENDON AND LEE COUNTIES, SPOTLIGHTING THOSE MOST AFFECTED AND RECOGNIZING HOW WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER IN THE FIGHT.

Inside: Vital information you need to know to keep you and your family safe.

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These times may seem uncertain, but one thing you can count These times may seem uncertain, but one thing you can count on is USC Sumter's commitment to our students and their on is USC Sumter's commitment to our students and their success. We would love to help you get started with your success. We would love to help you get started with your college career. Join us and be part of the Fire Ant Family. college career. Join us and be part of the Fire Ant Family.

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A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 3

WHAT'S INSIDE

ON THE COVER

SUMTER, MASKED

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Through the Doorway

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Have you recovered from COVID-19?

Your blood could save someone else's life.

Some of the faces of the area’s response to the pandemic are seen in portraits. Taken throughout 2020 since March, they represent nurses, essential retail and grocery workers, students, military and community members. They are Sumter.

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A guide to COVID-19 testing

Photos by Micah Green

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What kind of test is best for my situation?

Support Your Community.

Support Local News.

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COVID-19's racial disparity

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How to make a cloth mask at home without sewing

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Where are masks required in the tri-county area?

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The ultimate toll

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A new mother gave birth.

COVID-19 would be her next battle.

Exclusive to this magazine, this photo series offers a look inside the homes of Sumter residents during quarantine and the ongoing pandemic.

How the antibodies found in recovered patients' blood can help others.

Testing sites near you and what you need to know before you go.

Learn the difference between testing for an active or past infection.

A look into the data and reasons why the virus is overly affecting African-Americans.

Need a mask? Make one at home to save money and a trip to a store.

Access to information is critical to a thriving community. Our staff at The Sumter Item works every day to bring you information you need to know and stories you want to hear. Support from our readers helps us sustain our mission. Show your commitment to supporting local journalism by subscribing today at www.TheItem. com/Subscribe. Thank you.

A guide to mask mandates

Remembering Maj. Kelvin Kenyatta Cooper

High-risk: A new mother's battle with COVID-19

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An unprecedented birthday

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A new school year unlike any other

Finding a way to celebrate milestones amid a pandemic that requires us to stay physically apart.

How schools are adapting to teaching during a pandemic.

About The Sumter Item

The Sumter Item has been serving Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties since Oct. 15, 1894. With a newspaper printing five days a week, the region's largest local media website updated daily, a video production department and podcast network, The Item is the best source and widest reach for local news in the area. www.theitem.com I 36 W. Liberty St., Sumter, SC I 803-774-1200

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FROM THE S TA N D I N G S T R O N G T O G E T H E R What is the proper response to tragedy? Is there one? How should we react to loss and the abyss of the unknown, like wading into murky ocean waters?

When our world and daily lives were upended, altered permanently by an airborne respiratory virus no one, civilian or scientist, had seen before, we never could have guessed how each one of us would react. Internally and to those around us, how does one contend with the personal responsibility of doing your part to fight an invisible enemy?

How do we know what information to listen to, what steps to take, what decisions to make? How do you explain the importance of wearing a mask to an 8-year-old? How do you find the bright spots in a world where nurses watch through plastic as grandparents connected to tubes die alone? A world where historically underserved communities whose jobs often require them to work in person and return home to multi-generational households suffering preexisting conditions at a higher rate because of lack of access to health care and healthy, affordable food are hit harder than those who can afford to work from home and pick up a quarantine hobby.

Fred Rogers once told the world that his mother comforted the boy who would become iconic children’s TV host Mr. Rogers when he saw scary things on the news by telling him to “look for the helpers.” In times of tragedy, there will always be people trying to help.

The helpers are who inspired this magazine.

They’re holding parades instead of birthday parties to maintain connection with one another. They’re donating masks, donating supplies, donating

their own blood to strangers. They’re going months without hugging their children so they can work double shifts in ICU units. They’re handing out food.

Stocking shelves. Trucking supplies around a nation wracked with virus.

Let this serve as a time capsule. Inside these pages you’ll find homage to the helpers and remembrances of how we worked together in this unprecedented time, what and who we lost. Let this also serve as a resource guide. Inside you’ll find vital information you need to know to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

It’s no consolation to those who have died, lost their loved ones, lost their job, lost their feeling of connectivity to their friends and the world. Those tragedies should be recognized and honored for what they are.

STAFF

Publisher: Vince Johnson Executive Editor: Kayla Green Advertising Sales: Karen Cave, Devin McDonald, Mark Pekuri Magazine Layout/Graphic Design: Janel Streiter Advertising Graphic Design: Ryan Galloway Copy Editors: Rhonda Barrick, Melanie Smith Newsroom: Dennis Brunson, Shelbie Goulding, Sandra Holbert, Tim Leible, Bruce Mills Photography: Micah Green Videography: Ty Cornett For a full staff list, go to www.TheItem.com/contact

They should be the reason we help the helpers.

Because if we’re all to go on, if we’re all to retain the courage daily to try to stop this thing from tightening its grip on our lives, we must do it together. Lockdown and isolation and the thought of nurses and teachers writing their wills just in case should be a rallying cry for every one of us to come together and fight alongside each other. For each other.

We may not know what is in store for the coming days, weeks, months. We will lose more people to this virus. But I know one thing. There will always be people fighting for a better world. To them, I say thank you. And keep up the fight. We’re with you.

Executive Editor, The Sumter Item A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 5

THROUGH THE DOORWAY

A PHOTO SERIES Throughout this magazine you will find portraits that exhibit the faces of Sumter. In each you will find, despite distance and barriers, represented physically by the doorways of their homes, resiliency. Combined, they are the strength of a community. Taken throughout 2020 since March, these portraits demonstrate a cross-section of Sumter, showing a pandemic's impact across gender, race, generation, occupation and circumstance.

PHOTOS BY MICAH GREEN

Sarah Jones Sarah sits in a room in her Sumter home. The Sumter native is the creator, editor and creative director of Brindle+Black magazine, a curated, illustrated magazine that showcases Sumter in a positive light. With COVID-19 canceling events and many people's way of life, Brindle+Black's summer issue featured QR code Spotify playlists, crosswords, a book club list and pizza recipes to make at home.

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Alex Moss Alex plays basketball at Morris College, but with the college closing its campus and dorms in the spring, he needed a way to stay in town. He is seen here from a Broad Street hotel room window, where he temporarily called home.

Grainger and Floride McKoy Grainger McKoy is one of the bigger names to come out of Sumter. His art is internationally renowned, and his work sculpting birds in wood, bronze and silver has its roots in Sumter and Swan Lake.

The McKoys are seen here just inside their front door.

Jacob Bittinger Crestwood High School's Class of 2020 valedictorian is bound for Clemson University and its engineering program after spending his last two high school years in USC Sumter's Early College program. The National Merit Scholarship Commended Student's role model is Elon Musk. He, as Jacob puts it, "gets things done."

The Sherberts

Thomas and Ali'i Sherbert are seen with their son, Noah. Ali'i received her high school diploma in June at the age of 24 after dropping out her senior year and falling into drug addiction. She's upset she couldn't attend a graduation ceremony because of the pandemic. It's something she looked forward to for years. She credits her family's support for getting her to this moment, and she wants to become a nurse.

Clay and Shasta Smith

A former Sumter School District Teacher of the Year, Shasta spent the spring coaching other teachers on how to use online learning software. On stricter lockdown from Shaw Air Force Base rules, Clay has honed his bread-making skills.

Matthew and Addie Morse Quarantine hasn't been all dark spots. Matthew, the City of Sumter's marketing coordinator, is seen here with a giggly Addie. The 3-year-old has spent a lot of time painting and drawing, taking after her artistically inclined mom and dad and pushing the Talking Trees buttons at Swan Lake.

Justin McCoy While studying in the Sumter Adult Education program, Justin has maintained a job at Waterworks Pool and Spa. Not being able to walk for graduation may have been a downer, but Justin will be able to tell the story to his daughter, Charlotte, of one of his defining moments of this unprecedented time.

Andrea Clark In her four years in FBLA at Sumter High School, Andrea went from "being too scared to talk in a local meeting" to working on a national level. In May, she graduated atop her class of 478 Gamecocks. She is headed to the Ivy League for Brown University in the fall on her path to fulfill her goal of becoming a corporate lawyer.

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 7

HAVE YOU RECOVERED FROM COVID-19?

Your blood could save someone else's life.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered, you have the opportunity to give back to those still battling the virus. Your action could save more than one life.

H

ealth care professionals have been using convalescent plasma to help treat severely ill COVID-19 patients. Convalescent plasma is a type of blood donation collected from individuals who have recently recovered from the coronavirus. They have developed antibodies that can attack the virus and may help other patients fight it off by infusing them with their virusfighting antibodies.

Right now, the American Red Cross is facing an emergency shortage of such convalescent plasma. It is distributing donations faster than they’re coming in.

Over the height of the summer, the Red Cross saw hospital demand for convalescent plasma more than double as coronavirus cases sharply increased in many U.S. states, including South Carolina and the Midlands.

Individuals who have fully recovered and received a verified COVID-19 diagnosis are urged to sign up to give their convalescent plasma by completing a Donor Information Form at www.RedCrossBlood.org/

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plasma4covid.

“It is critical that COVID-19 survivors give their antibody-rich plasma now to ensure this blood product is available to help those actively battling this coronavirus,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer of American Red Cross Biomedical Services.

“Convalescent plasma has been used for decades as a potentially lifesaving treatment until virus or diseasespecific treatments and vaccines are developed. It remains crucially important today in the fight against this COVID-19 pandemic.”

Photos by the American Red Cross in the Midlands

HOW FAR WILL MY DONATION GO?

The only source of convalescent plasma is from COVID-19 survivors, giving them a unique ability to help.

Each donation can potentially help treat up to three patients.

The Red Cross is collecting convalescent plasma at more than 170 locations throughout the U.S., including multiple locations in South Carolina, to help meet patient needs. Since April, thousands of people who have recovered from the virus have rolled up their sleeves, quite literally giving a part of themselves to save others. Those donors have allowed the Red Cross to collect and distribute over 20,000 lifesaving plasma products nationwide, including over 750 in South Carolina.

HOW CAN I HELP?

If you: • Are at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds; • Feel in good health/generally feel well even if being treated for a chronic condition; and • Have a verified diagnosis of COVID-19 but are now symptom-free…

Go to www.RedCrossBlood.org/plasma4covid to sign up.

Enter your information on the site, and it will show you the closest local donation site. You can then continue to sign up for an appointment to that specific location.

DIDN’T HAVE COVID-19 BUT STILL WANT TO HELP?

The need for blood is constant. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, thousands of Red Cross blood drives have been canceled as community organizations and businesses restrict access to many locations. The Red Cross needs the help of blood donors and blood drive hosts to ensure a stable blood supply throughout the crisis. You can help patients battling disease and facing the unexpected by giving whole blood or platelets.

Donation appointments can be made by downloading the free Blood Donor app, visiting www.

RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.

Y ACADEMY The 2020-20021 School Year is rapidly approaching and we know that it will look different this year. The Y wants to ensure you that your child will have access to the resources they need to continue their educational growth in a safe, supervised environment.

Contact us for program hours and availability.

510 Miller Rd, Sumter 803-773-1404 www.ymcasumter.org A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 9

COVID-19

Stop the Spread of Germs Help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and flu.

What are the symptoms?

Fever

Cough

Shortness of Breath

How is it prevented?

Wash hands often

Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands

Avoid contact with sick people

Stay home while you are sick; avoid others

Cover mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces

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If you have general questions about COVID-19, call the DHEC Care Line at 1-855-472-3432 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.

Visit scdhec.gov/COVID19 for more information.

CR-012563

3/20

Shani Thompson Shani is seen from just inside her front door with her sons, Washan Clayton and Zion Williams. Shani is a nurse, which requires an extra level of caution to ensure she isn't bringing the virus home or to work.

McKenzie Quinn-Barnett

Tanya Peckham

"Pre-pandemic, I lived at the breakneck speed demanded by this world we live in, days flying by too fast to see them clearly. Now, I am grateful to discover serenity within the eye of this storm. Reflection is unclear without stillness, and there can be no healing without honest reflection."

Last year's District Teacher of the Year is seen from a window of her home with her sons, Spencer, 11, and Samuel, 10. Normally, Tanya would have helped surprise the new year's Teacher of the Year finalists in their classrooms in front of their students but this year was confined to shouting congratulations from across front yards.

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A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 11

A GUIDE TO COVID-19

TESTING There are several ways to get tested, including clinical settings, mobile sites set up throughout the community and telehealth care to determine your level of need.

TELEHEALTH VIRTUAL CARE PROVIDERS

Several South Carolina health systems are offering telehealth options to the public. These options are available to anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms in South Carolina. To access a free consultation, use the promo code COVID19.

• MUSC Health Virtual Urgent Care – https://campaigns.muschealth.org/virtualcare/index.html • McLeod Telehealth – https://www. mcleodhealth.org/services/care/telehealth/ • Prisma Health Virtual Visit – https://www.prismahealth.org/virtual-visit/ • Roper St. Francis Healthcare Virtual Care – https://www.rsfh.com/virtualcare/

MOBILE TESTING SITES

COVID-19 mobile testing sites are operating in counties across the state. As providers across the state continue to increase testing, DHEC wants to make sure South Carolinians WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 12

know where they can go to get tested. The mobile testing clinic webpage provides information to help you locate where free testing is happening right now or coming up in your community.

All DHEC mobile and popup testing clinics are free. The sites are part of the state’s efforts to increase testing in underserved and rural communities across the state.

To find a current list of upcoming mobile testing sites, go to https://bit.ly/33Wfo94.

Screening and testing sites This list is intended to help provide information about the known locations of various COVID-19 testing sites. An interactive map of the state detailing where sites are can be found at DHEC’s website, but it does not constitute endorsement by DHEC. The status of the list may not be exhaustive and is subject to change.

To search the list online, go to https://bit. ly/33OjSyB.

If you test positive for COVID-19, a contact tracer will call you. Notifying people about a possible exposure is critical to stopping the spread because the virus can be transmitted without causing symptoms.

- S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

“

SUMTER COUNTY CVS Pharmacy Type: Drive-through Dates and Time: Schedule an appointment online Address: 41 E. Calhoun St., Sumter Contact: https://www.cvs.com/ minuteclinic/covid-19-testing Details: Register in advance on the CVS webpage. Bring ID and follow directions provided.

Tests will be self-administered at the pharmacy drive-through window. Patients will not leave their vehicles. Patients must be 18+.

Appointment needed: Yes Doctor referral needed: No

Colonial Family Practice – Main Office Type: Drive-through Dates and times: MondayFriday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Saturday-Sunday Address: 325 Broad St., Sumter Contact: (803) 773-5227 https://www.colonialhealthcare. com/Coronavirus.aspx Details: Call in advance. Drivethrough testing open while resources are available Appointment needed: No Doctor referral needed: No Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital Type: Drive-through Dates and times: MondayFriday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Saturday-Sunday Address: 216 N. Main St., A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 13

Sumter Contact: https://www.prismahealth.org/VirtualVisit/ Details: Text “COVID19” to 83973 for more information or visit the website to complete a virtual visit.

Appointment needed: Yes Doctor referral needed: Yes Sandhills Medical Foundation Type: On-site testing Dates and times: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Saturday-Sunday Address: 425 N. Salem Ave., Sumter Contact: (803) 305-6255 | http://sandhillsmedical. org/virus/ Details: Call or visit the website for more information. Closed for lunch 1-2 p.m.

Appointment needed: Call for details Doctor referral needed: Call for details

CLARENDON COUNTY CVS Pharmacy Type: Drive-through Dates and times: Schedule an appointment online Address: 119 W. Boyce St., Manning Contact: https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid19-testing Details: Register in advance on the CVS webpage.

Bring ID and follow directions provided. Tests will be self-administered at the pharmacy drivethrough window. Patients will not leave their vehicles. Patients must be 18+.

Appointment needed: Yes Doctor referral needed: No HopeHealth Type: Drive-through Dates and times: Monday-Friday,noon-2 p.m.; closed Saturday-Sunday Address: 12 W. South St., Manning Contact: (843) 667-9414 | https://www.hopehealth.org/ Details: Call for telehealth or to make an appointment. Testing for current patients only.

Appointment needed: Yes Doctor referral needed: Yes Lowcountry Urgent Care Type: On-site testing Dates and times: Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 14

Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Address: 428 W. Boyce St., Manning Contact: (803) 433-5600 | https://www. lowcountryurgentcare.com/locations/ Details: Check in online and fill out the online screening. Upon arrival at the clinic, patients should wait in their vehicle for further instructions.

Call in advance for questions or concerns.

Appointment needed: Yes Doctor referral needed: No McLeod Health Clarendon Type: Drive-through Dates and times: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m-5:30 p.m.; closed Saturday-Sunday Address: 10 E. Hospital St., Manning Contact: https://www.mcleodhealth.org/services/ care/telehealth Details: Must meet screening criteria to be tested.

Visit website for a brief assessment and further information.

Appointment needed: Yes Doctor referral needed: No Santee Cooper Urgent Care Type: Drive-through Dates and times: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Address: 1013 Professional Court, Manning Contact: (803) 433-7425 | https://www. colonialhealthcare.com/Coronavirus.aspx Details: Call in advance. Drive-through testing open while resources are available.

Appointment needed: No Doctor referral needed: No

LEE COUNTY CareSouth Carolina – Bishopville & Bishopville Pediatrics Type: Drive-through Dates and times: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Address: 545 Sumter Highway, Bishopville Contact: (803) 484-5317 | https://www.caresouthcarolina.com/ Details: Call or visit the website for more information.

Appointment needed: No Doctor referral needed: No

What kind of test is best for my situation?

There are two types of testing associated with COVID-19. One suggests you have the virus, and the other suggests you have been exposed to it. It is important to know the difference when assessing what kind of test you need.

Swab test

Also called viral testing, this test is done by swabbing the nose or mouth. A positive test is generally a very reliable indicator the virus is present and is the recommended test to determine if someone is currently infected.

Terminology: • Positive test: Suggests you have COVID-19 • Negative test: Suggests you do not have COVID-19, but other factors must be considered such as the timing that the test is done Limitations: • There must be enough virus present for the test to detect it. The virus level may not be high enough for a test to be positive for several days after the person was exposed. People who have COVID-19 and show symptoms typically have high enough levels of the virus in their bodies for a test to be positive.

• A negative test does not guarantee a person does not have COVID-19. A person who is tested immediately after he or she is exposed and infected, when the amount of virus in the body is still low, will have a negative test. However, that person will still have enough virus to infect others soon after, even before he or she starts showing symptoms of COVID-19. If you are instructed to quarantine after an exposure to a person who has COVID-19, remain isolated for the entire quarantine period, even if you test negative.

Testing is generally not recommended in the clinical setting for people without risk factors for or symptoms of COVID-19 infections. Public health testing clinics in the community will test everyone, regardless of risks or symptoms.

Blood, antibody or serology test

This testing is done using a sample of blood collected by a venipuncture or a finger prick and detects antibodies produced as the body fights off the virus. These tests are more useful for determining if someone has been

infected with COVID-19 in the past. Antibody tests are not recommended to determine if someone is currently infected.

Terminology: • Positive test: Suggests you have had COVID-19 in the past • Negative test: Suggests you have not been infected with COVID-19 in the past, but other factors must be considered such as the timing the test is done Limitations: • It can take 1-3 weeks after infection occurs for your body to produce enough antibodies for the test to detect them. You may be currently infected even if you have a negative antibody test.

• Health professionals are still learning about antibody tests. Currently, doctors and scientists do not know whether antibodies detected by these tests will protect people against becoming infected in the future. Until we learn more, no one should consider themselves immune to COVID-19 infection based on these results.

You should still take precautions to protect yourself against future infections, even if your antibody test is positive.

Source: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

CORONAVIRUS TESTING Sandhills Medical Foundation, Inc.

CALL FOR UP-TO-DATE TESTING LOCATIONS » » » » »

Testing is Open to all interested No cost to you: you: No fees or co-pays Drive-through or walk-up format Call & pre-register for fast service New more comfortable type test

877-529-4339 TO REGISTER & DETAILS

PHOTO CREDIT: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 15

COVID-19'S IMPACT WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 16

The numbers show

there's a disparity in COVID's impact on African-Americans

BY KAYLA GREEN

P

ublic health agencies across the nation were at first slow to release data detailing specific demographics of those sickened and killed by the coronavirus, but as information continues to be made available, it’s clear certain Americans are being disproportionately affected: AfricanAmericans.

Roughly 27% of South Carolina’s 5.1 million residents are Black, but, according to state data as of Aug. 15, 35% of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are Black, and African-Americans comprise 36% of those who have died. Those numbers show a closer alignment to population demographics than at the outset of the pandemic, when Black patients represented about 40% of cases.

While the distribution of the virus is more evenly spread across the state according to demographics than before, AfricanAmericans are still getting sicker and dying at a higher rate.

According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, 48% of the state’s cases that have required hospitalization are Black residents.

Clarendon County has the highest percent – 16% – of hospitalized cases. Of them, 68% are Black.

As of Aug. 16, the new coronavirus has claimed 2,269 South Carolinian lives.

DHEC has confirmed 56 Sumterites have died from the respiratory illness as of Aug. 16. Sumter County’s population of 106,721 is 47.9% Black and 47.9% white, but 57% of the county’s death toll, as of mid-August, has been African-American.

The numbers don’t surprise health care workers.

“Health disparities by race have been a problem in our society for decades,” said Michelle LoganOwens, CEO at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital in Sumter. “This virus has only amplified them.”

Myriad systemic, socio-economic factors formed and perpetuate demographic disparities.

According to an Associated Press analysis in April, of victims whose demographic data was publicly shared by officials, about 42% were Black.

African-Americans make up 21% of the total population in the areas covered by the analysis, which spanned eight states, six of Florida’s largest counties and six major U.S. cities, including New York City and the District of Columbia.

In South Carolina, 85% of those in the state who have died had underlying health conditions, according to DHEC data.

DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick said the most common underlying health conditions among the deceased have been heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Mid-August state data show 60% of all COVID-19 deaths with available data reported having heart disease, and 47% had diabetes.

Statewide and nationally, African-Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, asthma and high blood pressure (hypertension), putting them at a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.

Of the roughly 528,000 adults in South Carolina who have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to DHEC, 17.8% are Black, while 12.4% are white.

The state agency shows African-Americans face a higher risk of developing ischemic heart disease A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 17

Ricky Simmons, left, youth pastor and director of House of Hope at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church, and the Rev. Marion Newton, senior pastor.

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and die from strokes more often.

Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease by 32%, and 76% of AfricanAmericans in South Carolina are overweight or obese.

Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease than adults without diabetes.

According to state data, one out of every five Black adults in South Carolina has diabetes, which is 47% higher than the rate for white adults.

According to Live Health SC, Hispanic/ Latino and Black residents were more likely to delay seeing a doctor because of cost in 2018, and white residents were more likely to have health insurance.

Logan-Owens, who has helped spearhead a partnership between Tuomey and Sumter Family YMCA to fight and prevent childhood obesity, said food accessibility and affordability are vital. Who can afford healthy food, and who lives closer to grocery stores or other sources of fresh produce? Who has transportation to get to a grocery store if there isn’t one close to home?

“Do they have access to basic essentials

to live a healthier life? Are there sidewalks and parks to walk on to get exercise? Do they have transportation to get to the doctor’s office?” Logan-Owens said.

When African-Americans work publicfacing jobs that have been deemed essential in this pandemic, such as cashiers and caregivers, they can’t work from home, putting them at risk.

COVID-19 is just as contagious for every human, but Black Americans are more likely to get sicker and die from it.

Logan-Owens said a long-term solution needs to address “revamping the entire health care system to make sure no one is left behind.”

“As a nation, how do we improve access to care? How do we make sure that not only do we give access but put programs in place to support ongoing maintenance of health?” she said. “We can prescribe medications, but if you can’t afford it or get to the pharmacy, it doesn’t do you any good.”

With gaps in access to those essentials, community leaders and structures step in to fill the hole.

Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church may be conducting services online, but it is continuing to care for its congregants and community. It distributes food to 30-40 people and more at times, according to the Rev. Marion Newton, senior pastor, twice a week through its House of Hope.

They have an accompanying program called the House of Love prepared next to its sanctuary on South Harvin Street

as an overflow shelter for Sumter United Ministries, a faithbased emergency services nonprofit.

Newton said he thinks COVID-19 will change our lifestyle in a more fundamental and widespread way than 9/11 did.

That’s the only event in his lifetime he said even comes close to comparing this pandemic to.

This, still, is different.

“It’s killing people all over,” he said.

Every aspect of life will be reexamined, he said. How will we worship after this? Will we socialize the same way? Will we eat from a restaurant buffet? Will everyone get their temperature taken at the airport?

Hopefully, he said, that reexamination addresses why Black communities see higher rates of underlying health conditions.

“I think America needs to look at our health more than they have in the past. I don’t think we’ve been good stewards with what God has given to us,” Newton said. “Not only for African-Americans, but for all people. We’ve been putting too much emphasis on material stuff, leaving our environment and our health out of it.”

Just as disparities when it comes to COVID-19 and health outcomes between white and Black patients have not surprised the health care industry, they do not surprise Melanie Colclough.

“When you live it and your loved ones and family make up the statistical data, it’s not a surprise,” said Colclough, executive director of Patriot Hall and the Sumter County Cultural Center.

A system that needs changing can be difficult to talk about, but the shame, she said, would be not learning a lesson out of it.

“Sometimes, when you don’t have to walk in someone’s shoes, you may not be aware of the challenges they may have,” she said.

She has not been without her challenges, ones you can't see from the surface.

You may look at Colclough’s husband, David, for example, and see his shopping cart full of groceries. You may think he’s hoarding. You may not be aware he changes clothes before walking in his home to avoid potentially bringing the virus inside, where the multiple loaves of bread and dozens of eggs feed the family of seven for just a few days. You may not be aware the Colcloughs might not have felt called to adopt their five children, all of whom are under the age of 10, had they not first lost their son, Gabriel, in Melanie’s eighth month of pregnancy.

She tries to learn from forced hardship. She said she hopes we all can from this, too.

“I’m not surprised by (the disparities)," she said, "but I’m glad it’s a conversation people are having now so we can be each other’s keepers.”

Jaden Scott Jaden plays basketball with Team Perseverance Athletics, a nonprofit training program that works on game skills as well as off-the-court necessities like self-esteem and sportsmanship. Seen here sitting on a basketball, Jaden has been training with social distancing to prepare for eventual high school team tryouts.

The Colcloughs Melanie and David are seen from a corner of their house with their five children. Melanie is the executive director of Patriot Hall, which has been closed to the public since March. There's never much down time with five kids under the age of 10, but the adoptive parents never miss an opportunity to thank God for their family.

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 19

H o w t o m a ke a

CLOTH MASK

wing e s t u o h t i w r o h t i at h ome w

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 recommends everyone wear a cloth face covering whenever they go out in public to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

How to wear cloth face coverings Cloth face coverings should — • Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face • Be secured with ties or ear loops • Include multiple layers of fabric • Allow for breathing without restriction • Be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape CDC on homemade cloth face coverings CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 20

transmission.

CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance.

The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Photo from the American Red Cross

Should cloth face coverings be washed or otherwise cleaned regularly? How regularly?

Yes. They should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use.

How does one safely sterilize/ clean a cloth face covering?

A washing machine should suffice in properly washing a cloth face covering.

How does one safely remove a used cloth face covering?

Individuals should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose,

and mouth when removing their cloth face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.

Sewn cloth face covering Materials • Two 10”x 6” rectangles of cotton fabric • Two 6” pieces of elastic (or rubber bands, string, cloth strips, or hair ties) • Needle and thread (or bobby pin) • Scissors • Sewing machine

Instructions 1. Cut out two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of cotton fabric.

Use tightly woven cotton, such as quilting fabric or cotton sheets. T-shirt fabric will work in a pinch.

Stack the two rectangles; you will sew the cloth face covering as if it were a single piece of fabric.

2. Fold over the long sides ¼ inch and hem. Then fold the double layer of fabric over ½ inch along the short sides and stitch down.

3. Run a 6-inch length of 1/8A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 21

inch wide elastic through the wider hem on each side of the cloth face covering. These will be the ear loops. Use a large needle or a bobby pin to thread it through. Tie the ends tight.

Don’t have elastic? Use hair ties or elastic head bands. If you only have string, you can make the ties longer and tie the cloth face covering behind your head.

4. Gently pull on the elastic so that the knots are tucked inside the hem.

5. Gather the sides of the cloth face covering on the elastic and adjust so the cloth face covering fits your face. Then securely stitch the elastic in place to keep it from slipping.

The McElveens Thomas and Bronwyn both serve government roles, Thomas as a state senator and Bronwyn as an assistant solicitor. COVID-19 has brought challenges to how both of their day-to-days are played out, but any day they spend with Adelaide and Joe is a bright spot.

Selena Ruth Smith Seen here in her home in Mayesville, Selena's blue uniform has since been swapped for a white officer's uniform at the Sumter Fire Department. Amid the pandemic, Selena was promoted to become the department's first Black female lieutenant. Her role as a fire prevention specialist has been challenged by COVID-19 and an inability to teach in person, but social media has proved a vital outlet.

WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 22

Quick cut T-shirt cloth face covering (no sew method) Materials • T-shirt • Scissors Instructions 1. Cut the bottom 7-8 inches off a T-shirt 2. Cut a rectangle out of each side, 6-7 inches wide.

Leave some fabric on the top and bottom to be used as tie strings. Cut the end of the tie strings to create four strings.

3. Tie the bottom two strings around your neck and the top two over the top of your head with the center piece of the fabric secured over your nose and mouth.

Bandana cloth face covering (no sew method) Materials • Bandana (or square cotton cloth approximately 20”x20”) • Coffee filter • Rubber bands (or hair ties) • Scissors (if you are cutting your own cloth) Instructions 1. Cut coffee filter horizontally in half.

2. Fold the bandana in half. The rectangle should be longer than tall.

3. Place filter in center of folded bandana. Fold into thirds by folding the top down and bottom up.

4. Place bandana through rubber bands or hair ties that are about 6 inches apart.

5. Fold sides to the middle and tuck.

6. Place folded bandana over nose and mouth and pull hair ties or rubber bands behind ears.

Q U I C K C U T T- S H I R T C L O T H F A C E C O V E R I N G ( N O S E W M E T H O D )

COVID-19

Materials • •

T-Shirt Scissors

If you have recently traveled to an area that has COVID-19 transmission and are experiencing symptoms mentioned below, call ahead to your health care provider before seeking medical care.

What is it?

• A new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, China B A N D A N A C L O T H F A C E C• O E Rthe I Npotential G ( N OtoScause E W severe M E T Hillness O D )and It V has pneumonia in some people

How is it spread?

Who is at risk?

S E W N C L O T H FA C E C O V E R I N G

Through the air by coughing and sneezing

Close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands

Touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes

What are the symptoms?

Illnesses can be mild, or in some cases be severe enough to require hospitalization. Symptoms of this respiratory illness primarily include:

Travelers to and 65 years and See travel from certain older and those guidance from areas are at with underlying the Centers for increased risk health conditions Disease Control as are the close and Prevention contacts of those www.cdc.gov/ who are ill coronavirus/2019ncov/travelers/ index.html

How is it prevented?

Similar to prevention of other respiratory illnesses, including the flu: • Wash hands often • Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands • Avoid contact with sick people

Fever

Cough

Shortness of Breath

• Stay home while you are sick; avoid others • Cover mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing

Visit scdhec.gov/COVID19 for more information.

CR-012550

4/20

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 23

For the latest on how COVID-19 is impacting Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties, visit www.theitem.com/coronavirus. All our coronavirus coverage is free to the public.

WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 24

WHERE ARE MASKS REQUIRED IN THE TRI-COUNTY AREA? In traveling from place to place, it may be hard to know where a mask is required, where it is suggested and where there are no rulings on the matter.

The main thing to know is that a mandate or ordinance means a face covering is required, usually in any retail or food service establishment. Penalties are usually associated with mandates. A resolution is a non-binding document where government leaders strongly urge people to wear face masks inside public spaces, but there is no legal requirement.

Municipalities that have passed mandates • City of Bishopville • City of Manning • City of Sumter

Municipalities that have passed nonbinding resolutions • Clarendon County • Lee County • Sumter County • Town of Mayesville • Town of Paxville

Nearly 40% of South Carolinians – roughly 2 million residents – live where a local mask ordinance is in place. Areas that have seen a mask ordinance have a 46% greater decrease in the total number of cases in the month after the requirements were implemented.

Municipalities that have passed neither • Town of Pinewood • Town of Summerton • Town of Turbeville

As of Aug. 16. For an interactive map, go to wwww.scemd.org.

WHERE ARE MASKS REQUIRED STATEWIDE? • Inside restaurants unless you’re at your table • Inside governmentowned facilities • In public school facilities • On public school buses

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AnytimeServiceGuys.com A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 25

FAMILY FINDS SOLACE IN SUMTER NATIVE'S

IMPACT S

A F T E R H I S D E AT H FROM COVID-19

BY KAYLA GREEN

omeone held his hand as the virus took him, but it was someone he had never seen before the hospital, masked, gloved.

Nurse Jamie promised she would. That was hard, his sister said. It's hard to get closure when you can't be there to say goodbye.

In all the numbers, there are names. Kelvin Kenyatta Cooper, a Sumter native and retired U.S. Army major, died at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans on April 21. A month before the 1984 Mayewood High School graduate's 55th birthday, the brother of five, father of three, husband and son succumbed to the coronavirus ravaging communities across the world.

The Coopers are no newcomers to medical hardships.

Cancer killed one of his sisters five years ago on its third attempt.

They could hold her hand for that end.

"Coping with a second child in five years is tough," said Karen Wrighten, Cooper's youngest sibling, of their mother.

Wrighten lives in Charleston now, and other siblings live in Charlotte and Atlanta, so the separation from their mother who still lives in Sumter is hard.

"We couldn't be there for him.

We couldn't go see him. He was WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 26

MAJ. K E LV I N K E N Y A T T A COOPER 1965 - 2020

the brother that no matter where he was overseas, he was somehow there for a milestone. He was supportive of all of us," Wrighten said.

Cooper's wife, Nicole, is holding up "as well as she could." Their triplets are 10. The girl, Laila Nicole, was able to ring the bell signifying her brain tumor was gone just before her father came down with COVID-19, something

Wrighten described as "beauty in our brokenness."

Wrighten, her siblings and her mother were not allowed to attend the funeral in New Orleans, one of the hardest-hit cities in the country. They held a service over Zoom and plan to have a memorial service with full military honors and burial this fall.

Cooper's father was in the Air Force, and he instilled his love of country, God and family in his family, especially Cooper, Wrighten said. The fourth-oldest sibling lived fully. He was the die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan in a sea of Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. According to his obituary, he was "clearly their No. 1 fan."

He actively participated in civic and fraternal organizations after he moved to his wife's hometown of New Orleans following his military retirement. At the time of his death, he was president of the Gamma Rho Chapter of Omega Psi Psi Fraternity Inc. Cooper began college at Johnson C. Smith University before joining the Army. After several years, he completed his bachelor's in criminal justice from Benedict College. In 1995, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant officer and retired in 2012 as a major.

He liked to fish, and he loved to travel. He worked hard. Played harder.

"He was willing to give everything for everyone," Wrighten said. "He did it for his country, his family without any question."

His family nickname came to be Jack Bauer, the star of the TV show 24, because of his affinity to "just randomly appear" at family gatherings and milestones.

"His niece got married in Tallahassee. He was on some special operation, and he sent a video just before she walked down the aisle with the 24 music and everything. We were thinking, is he going to just walk in?"

Wrighten said.

After retirement, he completed his master's from Concordia University and worked as director of Army instruction in Lafourche Parish schools.

Wrighten said his death has brought stories of inspiration and impact to his family in hearing stories from people they have never met.

"So many people have emailed me and found me on Facebook to tell me about him. Especially the students. It's so amazing. One girl reached out to me and said she graduated from high school last year, and he changed her life. She didn't even want to live, but he encouraged her and inspired her.

It's little things like that in our time of turmoil have given us a beacon of hope," she said.

His favorite teacher from Sumter, Diann Frierson, wrote the family a letter.

"From the days of Mayewood until the day he embarked on his journey as an adult and beyond, he was destined to make his mark on the world. His presence and the impact he made while on this

"HE WAS WILLING TO GIVE EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE. HE DID IT FOR HIS COUNTRY, HIS FAMILY WITHOUT ANY QUESTION."

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 27

earth was displayed in every area of his life; as he was a great student, officer, loyal son, supportive brother, loving husband and father. I take great pride in knowing firsthand that Kelvin didn't leave the world as he found it," Frierson wrote. "Saying goodbye is hard, but I shall always remember Kelvin's beautiful and infectious smile. May you take comfort in knowing that God has assigned one more angel to watch over you from above."

They don't know how, from who, where Cooper contracted the virus. Like so many cases, it happened unexpectedly.

At first, his symptoms weren't bad. He had a fever, wasn't feeling well. Wrighten said he was misdiagnosed with the flu and got pneumonia before it got worse. The whole time, he had still been communicating with his family over social media.

Then, he became unable to breathe on his own.

He was put on a ventilator. Started to get better.

Took a turn for the worse.

His organs became affected, his lungs too overwhelmed to keep fighting. He was in the hospital for nearly a month.

Wrighten wants people to think of her brother

WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 28

and everyone who has died as more than a statistic. Put a name and a face to the cases.

"Don't think you're immune," she said.

Thanksgiving is the family's biggest feat, an annual reunion that started with their father's dying pledge in 1992 – Wrighten was a senior in college – to always be together for the holiday. They're so epic now, Wrighten said, the family has outgrown their mother's Sumter home.

"We kept telling him, 'When you get out of the hospital, we've got some Thanksgiving jokes.' He's the germophobe of the family," she said. "We're in awe, but we're still trying to push through. His birthday is May 19. We're going to do something."

What you should know about COVID-19 to protect yourself and others Know about COVID-19

milk

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an illness caused by a virus that can spread from person to person.

• The virus that causes COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that has spread throughout the world.

• COVID-19 symptoms can range from mild (or no symptoms) to severe illness.

• Buy groceries and medicine, go to the doctor, and complete banking activities online when possible.

• If you must go in person, stay at least 6 feet away from others and disinfect items you must touch.

• Get deliveries and takeout, and limit in-person contact as much as possible.

Know how COVID-19 is spread • You can become infected by coming into close contact (about 6 feet or two arm lengths) with a person who has COVID-19. COVID-19 is primarily spread from person to person.

• You can become infected from respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.

• You may also be able to get it by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, and then by touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.

Protect yourself and others from COVID-19 • There is currently no vaccine to protect against COVID-19. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.

• Stay home as much as possible and avoid close contact with others.

• Wear a cloth face covering that covers your nose and mouth in public settings.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcoholbased hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Practice social distancing

Prevent the spread of COVID-19 if you are sick • Stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care.

• Avoid public transportation, ride-sharing, or taxis.

• Separate yourself from other people and pets in your home.

• There is no specific treatment for COVID-19, but you can seek medical care to help relieve your symptoms.

• If you need medical attention, call ahead.

Know your risk for severe illness • Everyone is at risk of getting COVID-19.

• Older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for more severe illness.

cdc.gov/coronavirus CS 314937A 06/01/2020

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 29

A new mother gave birth. COVID-19 would be her next battle.

I

BY KAYLA GREEN

t took two weeks for the new mom to fight her way back from COVID-19's death grip before she could cradle her daughter in her arms. When she handed her to the nurse, she didn't know if it would be for the last time.

Shaquilla James returned in May to McLeod Health Clarendon to donate plasma in the hopes the antibodies in her blood from the coronavirus can help save someone else. She was met with tears.

Tears from the nurses who cared

WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 30

for her as she gave birth while being the first COVID-19-positive pregnant woman to do so in McLeod's seven-hospital system.

Tears from her midwife. From her Nurse Family Partnership nurse, who has been working with the first-time mom since she was six weeks pregnant. From basically anyone, whether they watched her story unfold or heard it after the outcome was clear.

As if motherhood, especially for the first time, isn't an emotional enough experience to navigate, throw in a highly contagious respiratory illness whose ongoing

pandemic means she had to choose either her mother or her sister to be in the delivery room with her and that the only thing she could see were masks, gloves, gowns, eyes and foreheads.

It started with a cough. When the ambulance came to pick her up after her water broke last month, she could barely get dressed.

"I was so weak and tired from the coughing," James said.

When Aubree Pearson was born, they asked James if she wanted to isolate herself from her newborn.

"At first, I said no, but then I changed my mind because I didn't want nothing to happen to my baby," she said, tears rolling behind her mask at any mention of the bundled girl

how they're doing.

"The sad thing is we don't get to see them necessarily (when they do get better), so it was really good to get to come back and see her," said

Shaquilla James

'I will be a living testimony' SHE NOW WANTS TO TELL HER STORY sleeping in her Nurse Family Partnership nurse's arms a few feet away.

James got worse fast. They moved her to the ICU but soon had to put her on a ventilator and transfer her to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. She said she was asleep for two or three days.

Hospital staff say it was longer.

"When I woke up, they explained what had happened.

I couldn't talk, so Kelly (Orton, a nurse in the Medical ICU in Florence) gave me a paper and pen to write down what I wanted to say, and I said, 'Please don't leave me,'" James said. "And she never left me."

Her daughter was motivation to get better, she said. Nurses printed pictures James' mother and sister sent of Aubree and hung them up in the hospital.

Hearing both Mom and baby were back at the hospital, this time on their own terms, nurses and her midwife all came in to say hello.

When moms get sick and have to be transferred to Florence, where there's a higher level of trauma services, they sometimes lose contact for a few days, left wondering

Tom Chappell, the McLeod Women's Care Clarendon certified nurse midwife who delivered Aubree.

More than a nurse

Alison Baggette works with 31 first-time mothers-to-be in Clarendon County through McLeod Health's Nurse Family Partnership. James tested positive before she had her baby, and now a mom with a 5-month-old has it. Both babies tested negative.

Baggette's job is to work with the program participants through pregnancy and until the baby turns 2. She helps prepare them for motherhood, connects them with resources and talks through their fears.

She helps them get a job.

She helps them finish school.

Whatever they need. She's like a walking, breathing, individualized new-mom encyclopedia.

Participants are often teenagers but are also in their 20s and 30s – James is 26 – and looking for extra support.

"These moms, we don't just see them a couple times. I've been there since she was six weeks pregnant," Baggette said.

When James was fighting for life, Baggette was still supporting them.

"I went into thinking about the child that was 3 days old without her mama that she's heard since she was 16 weeks pregnant. Her mama's voice, this voice was taken away from her, and that's all she knows because she can't see," she said.

Baggette had to prepare.

Emotions aside.

"I had to go to her sister, who has never had a child, and her mom and just educate them," she said.

She brought them diapers and taught them how to install the car seat, how to make the newborn's sleeping space safe.

Everything in a few hours.

All while checking on James in the hospital.

'I will be a living testimony' James doesn't know how she contracted the virus. She's

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 31

been staying home. She was embarrassed.

"Being from a small town, everyone's going to hear you got it. But Lord, being through what I went through, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," she said.

She now wants to tell her story because people need to take this virus seriously, she said.

"When I was laying in that bed with that tube in my throat, I said, 'Lord, if you get me out of this, I will be a living testimony to how wonderful you are,'" she said. "For everybody else, stay home.

Just stay home. Wash your hands. Try not to get

it. Because it can kill you. And you're going to be by yourself. We have great doctors here. My god, they're so good. But there's nothing like your family."

James is one of a growing number of recovered COVID-19 patients who is now giving back by donating plasma to be given to critically ill patients.

McLeod participated early on in a study through Mayo Clinic to test the effects of such convalescent plasma, and Dr. Catherine Rabon, a hospitalist and McLeod Health Clarendon's chief medical officer, said results remain promising.

"It's a good way for someone who is frustrated by having to quarantine ... They feel like the virus has taken over their life. It's empowering for them because they can take control and help somebody else," Rabon said. "It gives them a sense of community."

James knows she could very well not be here. She wants to help however she can, starting with issuing a constant flow of thanks to those who stood in as and with her family.

"When I first got her back, I didn't know whether to cry or smile. It was just so many emotions," she said. "Even now, I just look at her. I'll just stare at her. Oh my god. I love my baby."

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Covenant Place offers services and connection IN A TIME DEFINED BY DISTANCE Moving into an assisted living facility during a viral pandemic may sound scary. But what better way to stay in control than to plan your future on your terms?

T

he COVID-19 pandemic is impacting our older adult community in many ways. Not only are the medical complications and mortality risk greater for an older adult, but the crisis also adds another layer of mental health challenges. Even during “normal� times, boredom, isolation and loneliness combined with illness, grief, loss and nutrition are all concerns for seniors. COVID-19 has certainly exacerbated worries due to public health actions such as social distancing. Although necessary to help prevent the spread of infection, this isolation can also increase stress and anxiety and add concerns of nutrition and safety.

A tragedy of this pandemic is the social disconnection between older adults and others.

Bridge clubs, book groups, Bible studies and other social outlets are not occurring. Seniors are rarely leaving their homes.

Families are not getting together.

Connections with others are a vital key to successful aging. It's important to know that seniors need to be encouraged to ask for help, including with the use of technology so they can engage with others.

Living in a retirement community can help overcome many of the concerns that COVID-19 has presented.

Distancing measures are in place and adjustments have been made at Covenant Place to help seniors continue living at their best even during a pandemic. Residents are overcoming boredom, isolation and loneliness by having others close by in their lifestyle option, whether it be independent living, assisted living, memory care or skilled nursing. All the services and amenities are right at home for those who live there.

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Call Covenant Place today at (803)-469-7007 or visit online at www.covenantplace.org to learn more about how you or your loved one can live worry free even during COVID-19. Although the older adult community is more vulnerable, the rest of us can learn from them. Their resilience will inspire and teach us how to cope with the current crisis and move forward stronger as a society with better sense of perspective.

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She had plans to celebrate her 11th birthday.

Then her entire family got COVID-19.

BY KAYLA GREEN

A

fter having to cancel her last two birthday parties due to unforeseen circumstances, first because her father was sick, last year because a family member died, her mother wanted her eldest's 11th birthday to be special. Then the entire family got COVID-19.

Instead of the "Tik Tok birthday sleepover" Alicia Adger planned for Jordan Adger, the two and Jordan's sister stood on their front porch on Patriot Parkway just past Patriot Park in the heat of July as family and friends drove past.

Instead of a small group of Jordan's friends and cousins spending the night at a hotel with Alicia, having fun dancing the night away as they film dance videos on the social media platform, she waved as birthday songs floated

WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 34

from behind masks out of cars across the yard.

"She's always dancing. She was dying for that," her mother said.

Horns blared. Dad remained inside, too sick to partake in the surprise birthday parade.

Mom recently tested positive after first getting a negative result, and she has felt weak at times.

Jordan felt sick for a few days. Jordan's two younger siblings, 6-year-old Jada and 4-year-old Julius, have "been themselves the whole time."

Both Alicia Adger and her husband, Julius Adger Jr., live with other health issues, which public health officials have been warning puts

Jordan Adger

celebrates her 11th birthday with the help of family and friends during COVID-19.

To the left, Mandy Flynn, Jordan's teacher last year, stands in the yard to wish her a happy birthday.

A PUBLICATION OF THE SUMTER ITEM 35

people at risk of suffering more severe complications from the virus.

Julius Adger has diabetes and congestive heart failure. Both parents are unable to work. Alicia Adger has been on full-time disability since March 2016 when she was robbed at gunpoint, fell into depression and has suffered health problems since.

She was in the ICU for two weeks in November and has had four surgeries since a crash.

"Jordan gets it. She's scared for us," she said. "I feel bad. She's only a child."

According to DHEC data as of Aug. 10, 60% of all COVID-19 deaths in the state with available data reported having heart disease, 13% had congestive heart failure, and 47% had diabetes.

"I'm maintaining," Alicia Adger said. "I've got to still take care of them."

People are helping.

One of the women driving through the parade was Jordan's great-grandmother. Willie Mae Harry usually helps her oldest granddaughter's family with errands.

They're a close-knit family. COVID-19 has infected not just these five, but Alicia Adger's father, sister and step-mother also got sick. Two of them just got out of the hospital.

"Prayer changes everything. It's a bittersweet thing," Harry said, seeing the birthday girl but not being able to hug her. "They're strong people."

Jordan has had to contend with the virus canceling WWW.THEITEM.COM/SUBSCRIBE 36

her birthday party and every other semblance of regular life. She graduated from Cherryvale Elementary School in the spring. From home.

Mandy Flynn, a fifth-grade teacher at Cherryvale, said virtual learning in the spring was tough on her kids. She's been in the district since 2004 and at Cherryvale since 2016.

It works for some of her students, she said, but she knows others have had a hard time being home.

Not the Adgers, she said. Jordan's parents are "awesome."

"When I get on Zoom with my kids, the first thing I do is just ask, 'Do y'all need anything?'" Flynn said.

Flynn described Jordan as happy, pleasant and respectful. She loves to learn and has just the right amount of diva in her.

Even though Flynn is no longer Jordan's teacher – she's now at Furman Middle School – her surprise appearance at the birthday parade made Jordan more emotional than any other part of the day.

As Flynn got out of her car, holding a homemade birthday sign and a package of toilet paper, the birthday girl shrieked and gave her mother something between an extended hug and a squeezing hold, subtly crying as she realized this was all for her.

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A NEW SCHOOL YEAR IN A NEW WORLD

BY BRUCE MILLS AND KAYLA GREEN

Social distancing markers, face masks, hand sanitizer and parents dropping off kids in the parking lot with school officials for temperature checks are just some of the new looks to school this year.

When the pandemic hit, schools closed without warning. After finishing the school year via emergency distance learning, districts spent the summer planning for what the fall would look like. Seeing as COVID-19 is still making an impact with widespread community disease activity reports, students will remain on altered learning schedules.

In Sumter, classes began on Aug. 28 entirely online. Sumter School District board members and administration will reevaluate an in-person option every two weeks and launch a hybrid instruction model as an option for students when it is deemed safe to do so. The hybrid model will have students split into groups, with one group going to school for face-to-face instruction two days a week while the other group remains at home and learns online with teachers offering instruction live. The other two days, the groups switch. Wednesday is planned to be distance learning – not live instruction – for all students.

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Administration have said about half of the district’s children will choose the hybrid model of instruction when it begins, and the other half will learn entirely virtually the whole school year.

"It's been a true joy to have children back in the building," said Preston Spratt, principal at Willow Drive Elementary School, about the school’s LEAP Days in mid-August. "The teaching is going really well, our students are knowing that they are cared for, and we are getting to lay eyes on them."

In mid-July, the state Department of Education required every district that planned to begin the year with full virtual instruction, including Sumter, to offer LEAP Days as a face-to-face orientation and evaluation for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade before school officially starts.

One of the state's intentions with LEAP was to have districts and schools touch base with certain students who went largely unaccounted for in the spring after the move to remote learning. But LEAP was considered a good evaluation and preparation method for all elementary- and middle-school students, given the sudden school closures in March associated with the spread of the virus.

Spratt said his teachers' focus for LEAP centered on math, reading and social and emotional support.

Students also spent time familiarizing themselves with learning devices and the online learning platform. To accommodate social distancing of 6 feet, class sizes were capped at 10 students, and most classes averaged about seven students per day.

Given those protocols, one of the biggest visible changes at Willow Drive is that classrooms now have just 10 desks and chairs for students, and all seats are 6 feet apart. All teachers, students and staff wear face masks, take part in new routines, and safety is the priority, Spratt said. It's all a new way of doing school in the future in a hybrid model of two days of in-person instruction and the remainder of the week at home and virtually.

"We have let these students know that when we come back in hybrid,” he said, “they are going to be the leaders and the ones who teach their classmates how we do school now.”

School plans for Clarendon, Lee county districts Clarendon School District One, which started its school year Aug. 17, is offering three instruction options for students: face-to-face five days a week; a hybrid model with two days of instruction in person; and fully virtual.

Clarendon School District Two's reopening plan included an online start date for instruction of Aug. 17.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 14, the Manning-based district will offer one day of in-person instruction a week for all students.

Clarendon 3 will start school on Sept. 8 and is also offering three options, though they are different.

Students in kindergarten through second grade will be offered in-person instruction five days a week, and grades 3-12 will be offered two days of face-to-face instruction a week. All students can also choose to learn in an all-virtual capacity.

Lee County School District plans to start class on Sept.

8 and will offer all students both a hybrid model with two days a week of face-to-face instruction and fully virtual learning. According to the state Department of Education, Lee’s plan approval was contingent on the district offering an in-person option no later than Sept.

14.

Even when hybrid models are implemented by districts, public school students across the state have the option of remaining in full virtual instruction throughout the school year, given the coronavirus pandemic.

Masks required in all public school facilities One of the most noticeable changes to school this fall and a step health care professionals have been promoting as the most effective way to prevent the virus’ spread if people must be around each other is the use of

masks.

"As we prepare to welcome students and teachers back to South Carolina classrooms for face-to-face instruction, it is imperative that we implement measures that are proven to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus," State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said. "Requiring the use of face masks for everyone in our school buildings in combination with other mitigation tactics will help ensure that we have safe learning environments even when optimal social distancing is not feasible."

According to the state, the requirement while inside facilities and on school buses follows CDC guidance, which makes exceptions for children younger than 2, anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious and anyone who is incapacitated or unable to remove a cloth face covering without assistance.

The CDC guidance also has considerations for clear face coverings for special populations of students and staff.

The state department is purchasing and providing five cloth face masks for every teacher, bus driver, custodian and food service worker, has already purchased cloths masks for students and staff taking part in Academic Recovery Camps and will make masks available on school buses, on which Spearman announced earlier this week a requirement they be worn.

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