‘Did corona go away?’ Hilton Head visitors social distance on beach, pickleball court
Pam Jackson, a schoolteacher from North Carolina, had just finished playing pickleball at the Palmetto Dunes courts with her husband when she ripped open a pack of mini Twix candy. The coronavirus, she said, is “a lot of overreaction.”
While the contagious coronavirus has disrupted daily life across the globe and prompted full-scale business closings, cancellation of events and self-quarantining, life on Hilton Head for tourists and seasonal guests seems to continue with minimal impact.
“If I die of corona tomorrow, this is the hill that I die on,” Jackson said.
She has visited Hilton Head six times before and arrived Wednesday for a planned couples vacation. She and her husband are avid pickleball players and had planned to attend the “Hilton Head Pickleball Open,” which has since been postponed until October because of the virus.
Waiting his turn to play, Kent Parker, a retired professor from West Virginia, said the only thing the coronavirus seems to have done is reduce the number of tennis players waiting for a court.
“My expectations for being here are a tad lower. But the weather is great. Kind of pleasant,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s a pandemic.”
Parker arrived on Saturday and is staying near Shipyard Plantation, as he has for over a decade. The only change, he says, has been more meals cooked at home because of the state’s dine-in restaurant and bar ban.
“Is it just me or did corona go away?”
On Tuesday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on March 13 and on Tuesday, restricted restaurants in the state to allow only takeout in an effort to curb the virus’ spread.
“The enemy we face, the enemy of this virus, is bigger than any sort of irritation or inconvenience that any of us can have,” he said. “So we’re asking people to stick together and understand we’re in a crisis and we need to take these measures.”
On Hilton Head, the mandate did not change much for fast-casual eateries, where customers now order inside and then simply eat on outdoor tables.
Four high school seniors from Cincinnati, Ohio, visiting the island for spring break said it was not much different to eat at picnic tables outside the Salty Dog Cafe.
Corrinne, 17, and her friends drove to Hilton Head Monday. She said the island feels like a different world from Cincinnati.
“When we got here,” she said, “I asked my friends, ‘Is it just me or did corona go away?’”
The four said they were glad to get away from the city, as they can’t go back to high school and are disappointed that their prom and graduation ceremony are likely canceled.
Near the Marriott hotel pool, Melissa Rodriguez sits beneath an umbrella with her teenage children nearby. They drove from Florida on Tuesday to celebrate her 40th birthday. Coronavirus did not really figure into her decision to travel, she said.
“I questioned” canceling the trip, she said, “but once I saw the hotel wasn’t closed, we decided to continue.”
The mood in South Carolina government is much less relaxed, with an announcement Thursday afternoon that 21 more people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the Palmetto state to 81.
Back at the pickleball courts, Jackson’s husband suggests that everything people need to fight the virus is right here on the island: “fresh air and vitamin D.”
“People here are healthy,” he insisted.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 9:49 AM.
