COLUMBIA, S.C. (WBTW) — Horry County had a record number of new COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day.
DHEC announced Monday 542 new cases of COVID-19 statewide along with 11 new deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 14,800 and the total deaths to 557.
DHEC confirmed the reason for the spike is due to people not social distancing like they were at the beginning of the pandemic. DHEC also said people aren’t wearing masks as much as they did a few weeks ago.
Dr. Gerald Harmon, Tidelands Health Vice President of Medical Affairs, says the increase was expected as people and businesses return to “some normalcy.”
Harmon says self quarantine efforts are to curve the spread of the virus to not overwhelm hospitals.
“So that we didn’t have a spike beyond our capacity as a health care system to take care of these critically ill patients. Believe me, this is a deadly disease for certain at-risk patient types. We’ve seen it in large populations where they were unable to flatten the curve, where they were overwhelmed,” said Harmon.
He says reopening the economy is just as important as adhering to CDC guidelines.
“The more you’re out, the more you put yourself at risk. You don’t have to put yourself in quarantine in home. We’re allowing you to get out to get the emotional relief. Wear those masks. Wash your hands. Don’t shake hands. Don’t hug. Don’t cough in each other’s face. Wear a mask. Common sense,” said Harmon.
DHEC said people need to adhere to the CDC guidelines and will be making suggestions to Gov. McMaster about how to help prevent the spread of the virus.
DHEC would not say if decisions on reopening the economy were made too soon, but said whether or not businesses are open, people can still remain safe by following guidelines. They also said there would be no way to know if large Memorial Day crowds in Myrtle Beach specifically lead to the increase in cases.
DHEC said occupancy rates are still somewhat low, even during a non-pandemic time. Typical occupancy rate is around 80% and DHEC “feels comfortable” with where statewide rates are.
County breakdown:
- Horry: 61 new
- Marion: 1 new
- Dillon: 1 new
- Marlboro: 5 new
- Darlington: 2 new
- Florence: 10 new
- Georgetown: 9 new
New cases in all counties: Abbeville (7), Aiken (4), Anderson (2), Beaufort (13), Berkeley (9), Calhoun (1), Charleston (38), Cherokee (1), Chester (8), Chesterfield (5), Clarendon (1), Colleton (2), Darlington (2), Dillon (1), Dorchester (10), Edgefield (1), Fairfield (5), Florence (10), Georgetown (9), Greenville (116), Greenwood (11), Hampton (4), Horry (61), Jasper (1), Kershaw (6), Lancaster (3), Laurens (4), Lexington (48), Marion (1), Marlboro (5), McCormick (1), Newberry (2), Oconee (3), Orangeburg (19), Pickens (10), Richland (47), Saluda (2), Spartanburg (31), Sumter (12), Williamsburg (4), York (22)
