DPH Stands Down Winter Storm Triage Line; Care Line Resumes Normal Hours

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Feb. 2, 2026

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed that a skunk found near Hiott Road and Lakewood Lane in Anderson, S.C., has tested positive for rabies. No people are known to have been exposed at this time. One calf was directly exposed and multiple cows had potential exposure. It is rare that rabies is transmitted from one cow to another within a herd; however, out of an abundance of caution, the calf will be confined away from the herd, and the remaining cows will be observed for 180 days.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Feb. 1, 2026

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is standing down its winter storm-related Triage Line for Medical Equipment Power Shelters eligibility and resuming normal hours of the agency’s Care Line (1-855-472-3432) as of 2 p.m. today.

Both services have been operating 24 hours a day since Jan. 31.

The Care Line will resume its normal operating hours of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Correction: All four previous deaths have been included.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Jan. 31, 2026

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is announcing two additional deaths confirmed as being related to the winter storm that swept through the state this past weekend, bringing the total number of storm-related fatalities to six.