As of Wednesday, April 8:

• DHEC has announced two new cases of COVID 19 in Newberry County in the 29108 and 29127 zip codes. There have been nine positive cases diagnosed in Newberry County. Caution should be taken in the numbers. There are numerous pending cases and testing has not been widespread. People that work in Newberry County but live in another county are assigned to the county of residence.

• DHEC has provided information that one person from Newberry County has died as a result of COVID 19. Coroner Laura Kneece will release more details on this at a later time.

• Statewide there were 139 new cases diagnosed to give 2,552 total cases positively diagnosed. DHEC attributes 12 more deaths in the 24-hour period after 11:00am today, with 63 deaths taking place during the duration of the crisis.

• Effective 5:00 pm yesterday, the Governor issued an executive order to stay at home unless assigned to work or performing essential functions of life. In addition, non-essential businesses have been closed until further notice. For a complete list and description go to www.scemd.org.

• Wearing masks are encouraged when going out in public and doing essential business. The wearing of any type of mask could reduce the spread of the virus. Continuously wash hands and sanitize common areas. Sanitize hands after going into public places. Clothes should be cleaned immediately upon returning home. Wash clothes in warm to hot water or utilize a professional dry-cleaning service to kill any droplets that may be on clothing.

We will continue to update information as this crisis progresses. The quicker we cooperate with the guidelines, the faster this crisis will be over. Social distancing is the best method to reduce the infection rate.