COVID-19

If you're feeling anxious about the coronavirus pandemic, you're not alone.  More than one third of Americans think it is affecting their mental health, according to a recent study by the American Psychiatric Associaton.

Social distancing to stop the spread has shut down cities and left million without jobs.  Many who are working, are working from home, tackling technology, homeschooling kids and cooking all the family meals.

Daily life is different and stressful.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the restaurant industry was booming, with new people entering the industry on a regular basis.  Now, they are all but closed, relying on carry-out and delivery, if they can.  Only one year ago, our next guest bought an existing restaurant business in the Midlands, expecting to be celebrating that anniversary, but instead…

Mike Switzer interviews Mita Patel, owner of Columbia Wing Zone near the University of SC campus in downtown Columbia, SC.

This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Elizabeth Mack about helping kids stay active and maintaining healthy routines during the covid-19 crisis.  Dr. Mack is the Division Chief for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at MUSC Children’s Health, and she’s a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The South Carolina Lede is here to keep you up to date on important news as the Palmetto State faces the COVID-19 virus. There is so much news out there right now it’s overwhelming. This podcast is for you to get information that matters to you, your family and your fellow South Carolinians. No hype. No fear. Just COVID-19 news and resources to get us all through this.

On this episode for April 7, 2020, US Attorney for South Carolina Peter McCoy joins us to discuss a new strike team investigating price gouging scams related to the coronavirus pandemic. We then speak with Sara Barber, director of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, about how uncertain times and self-isolation can lead to or increase domestic abuse and what warning signs you should look for if you suspect someone you know is a victim. We also look at the latest updates from Gov. Henry McMaster and other state officials, listen to your voicemails, and more.

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. During a recent interview, Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers detailed the breadth of agricultural activities considered essential during this time of national crisis, and that there is no evidence that food product can transmit the corona virus.

Dr. Lacey MenkinSmith has made a career of global, infectious disease medicine and has long felt a worldwide pandemic was inevitable.  Yet, even she is having a hard time coming to terms with COVID-19.

"It's real, but sometimes I can't wrap my head around it," Dr. MenkinSmith says.  She's the Director of High-Risk Infectious Disease for the Emergency Department at the Medical University of South Carolina.

"I certainly never imagined that I would have to use the same sort of thought process that I do in my work overseas actually working in the United States."

This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Michael Schmidt about the science of handwashing and social distancing to help prevent covid-19.  Dr. Schmidt is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at MUSC and he is the Chair of the Council of Microbial Sciences at the American Society for Microbiology.

The South Carolina Lede is here to keep you up to date on important news as the Palmetto State faces the COVID-19 virus. There is so much news out there right now it’s overwhelming. This podcast is for you to get information that matters to you, your family and your fellow South Carolinians. No hype. No fear. Just COVID-19 news and resources to get us all through this.

On this episode for April 4, 2020, we speak with U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) about his experience testing positive for COVID-19, see how food banks are faring during this crisis, and talk with State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman about the current challenges facing the education system. We also look back at actions taken by the governor's office in the month since the first reported case of COVID-19 in South Carolina.

As South Carolinians are shut in for who-knows-how-long, they’re looking for ways to occupy their time and still do something positive.

Alexa Sparkman, manager of volunteer programs at Pawmetto Lifeline in Columbia, says her organization has seen a big uptick in adoptions and in requests to foster.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, much has been made of the expected shortage of ventilators for COVID-19 patients.  To maximize the patient treatment potential of ventilators in America's hospitals, a team of South Carolina doctors, engineers and other health care professionals has developed a way to double (at least) the capacity of the nation's ventilators while more are being made.

The South Carolina Lede is here to keep you up to date on important news as the Palmetto State faces the COVID-19 virus. There is so much news out there right now it’s overwhelming. This podcast is for you to get information that matters to you, your family and your fellow South Carolinians. No hype. No fear. Just COVID-19 news and resources to get us all through this.

On this episode for April 2, 2020, we discuss Gov. Henry McMaster's executive order closing all non-essential businesses in South Carolina, the latest unemployment numbers, and more. We also speak with Brinton Fox, owner of Boone Fox Farms in Columbia, SC, about how the virus is affecting agricultural businesses like hers, and ask her for tips for people beginning gardens while staying at home.

Premier Medical Laboratory Services in Greenville is the first commercial lab in South Carolina to be validated, via FDA and CDC protocols, to test for COVID-19 in fluid samples.

That’s an increasingly important job as the number of test kits ramps up and the number of people being tested for the coronavirus climbs along with it. But the growing number of tests is putting a lot of pressure on small labs like Premier, which are increasingly tasked with getting results back fast.

If building a personal protection mask that could be mass produced to fight the coronavirus pandemic was a puzzle, Joshua Kim was determined to figure it out.

The 25 year-old is the Senior Designer and Program Coordinator with the Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

“That moment was an epiphany moment,” says Kim.  “It was a great moment.”

It was the moment Kim realized he could use an air filter, like those commonly found in home improvement stores, to build a respirator for a mask mimicking the N95 now in demand.