At least 8,661 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 380 have died, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported…[over 250] new cases of the virus and no additional deaths Friday.

Patients who died were residents of Sumter, Cherokee, Clarendon, Fairfield, Florence and Pickens counties, according to health officials.

Worldwide, more than 4.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported and more than 310,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.4 million cases and 88,000 deaths have been reported in the United States.

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NEW: No new coronavirus deaths reported in South Carolina today, the first time in weeks to have zero daily deaths, but the state logged 276 new cases, bringing the total to 8,661.https://t.co/uDnZvIZJHW

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) May 16, 2020

Supercomputers in Europe being used to research Covid-19 were hacked this week, according to several laboratories. Some of the computers remain offline following the attack.

Supercomputers in Switzerland, Germany, and the UK were affected. It’s not clear if the attacks were linked or who was behind them.

Supercomputers can assist in researching Covid-19 and other maladies by running simulations to study the disease’s effect on cells and to gain further insight on potential treatments.

Several affected labs said that only the login portal to the supercomputers were affected, not the machinery that runs the computations. That could mean that an attacker was seeking to breach the system in order to steal research or to disrupt the progress of researchers, according to an employee of one of the supercomputing sites, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

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Supercomputers in UK, Switzerland & Germany hacked this week; some were being used for Covid research. Perpetrator not known & unclear if incidents related. https://t.co/GlfmMePY2O by @WilliamTurton

— Ryan Gallagher (@rj_gallagher) May 16, 2020

O God, steadfast in the midst of persecution, by whose providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: As the martyrs of the Sudan refused to abandon Christ even in the face of torture and death, and so by their sacrifice brought forth a plenteous harvest, may we, too, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Episcopal Church also commemorates the Martyrs of Sudan https://t.co/L2QlqfR4We

During the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), 2m+ were killed, half of them members of The Episcopal Church of the Sudan: https://t.co/nyo1LwMPDv pic.twitter.com/LdBzIHb83T

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) May 16, 2020

O God, Who dividest day from night, give us hearts and minds unshadowed by the gloom of evil; that we may think continually upon things that are good and wholesome, and be always pleasing in Thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

Green & Peace 🍃 #nature #trees #Peace #lake #picoftheday #beautiful #relax #green #PositiveMindset pic.twitter.com/x26oDZ2ttw

— Enjoy Nature 🌳🌸✈️ (@Enjoy_Nature_) November 26, 2019

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things which we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

–2 Thessalonians 3:1-5