South Carolina nears 1,000 cases of measles in Upstate outbreak

Hannah Wade, The State on Feb 6, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina is reporting nearly four dozen new cases of the measles virus, public health officials said Friday.

This brings the state’s total reported cases close to topping 1,000.

There have been 44 new cases of the measles, the South Carolina Department of Public Health announced Friday. That brings the total number of cases related to the ongoing measles outbreak up to 920, officials said Friday. That outbreak was first confirmed by the health department in October of last year. At least 277 people are in quarantine and eight are in isolation, the department said.

The majority of those 920 cases were for unvaccinated children, state health department data showed. More than 800 of the 920 people who contracted the virus were under 18 and 840 of the people who contracted the measles were unvaccinated. The health department said it had seen “a strong increase” in measles vaccinations across the state and in Spartanburg, with a statewide increase of 72% compared to last January and a 162% increase in Spartanburg County during that same time.

A vaccine for the highly contagious disease has been in use since 1968 and the disease was declared eliminated from the United States, meaning the absence of the continuous spread of disease was greater than 12 months, in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The health department identified numerous locations where exposures to the measles may have occurred, it said in the Friday release. Those locations include:

—Target at 6025 Wade Hampton Boulevard, Taylors, S.C., on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, from 8 to 10:15 p.m.

—Rick Erwin’s Level 10 Restaurant at 225 W. Main St., Unit 100, Spartanburg, S.C., on Thursday, Jan. 29 from 7 p.m. - 12 a.m. (Friday, Jan. 30).

—Boost Mobile at 1515 Asheville Highway, Spartanburg, S.C., on Thursday, Jan. 29, from 2 to 5 p.m.

—Social Security Administration at 145 N. Church Street, Spartanburg, S.C., on Thursday, Jan. 29 from 1 to 4 p.m.

“People who were exposed at Rick Erwin’s Level 10 Restaurant, Boost Mobile and the Social Security Administration, especially those without immunity through vaccination or previous disease, should monitor for symptoms through Feb. 19. Those exposed at Target should monitor for symptoms through Feb. 20,” the health department said Friday.

Measles symptoms typically begin a week to 12 days after exposure and usually begin with a cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, along with a mild to moderate fever, the health department said. A few days later, the fever spikes and a red, blotchy rash appears.

One of the state’s largest hospital systems, Prisma Health, began requiring all visitors at its hospitals to wear a face mask Thursday and the rules are in effect statewide.

_____