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Columbia Enlists Private Upstate Lab for Virus Testing

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In order for our economy to begin to re-open, healthcare experts say that more virus testing needs to be done on the population.  An Upstate genetics laboratory recently partnered with our capital city to provide immediate COVID-19 testing for the city’s first responders and public-facing frontline staff members and employees, an important first step.

Mike Switzer interviews Steve Benjamin, mayor of the city of Columbia, SC.  The Greenville, SC lab is Precision Genetics.

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After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.