As more Beaufort Co. first responders quarantine, officials raise staffing concerns
Three Beaufort County-area law enforcement officers are in self quarantine after making a DUI arrest Sunday of a driver who may have had contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Confirmed cases in South Carolina have ballooned to nearly 300 statewide.
The driver was arrested in Shell Point near Port Royal on suspicion of driving under the influence and having an open container of alcohol after she drove her car into a lagoon.
The woman was confirmed to be a nurse at a Beaufort County hospital, according to Beaufort County Jail logs and a search of her social media.
Two S.C. Highway Patrol troopers made the arrest. Two troopers are self-quarantining after “being possibly exposed to COVID-19 by a driver who had been involved in a collision,” confirmed Sherri Iacobelli, SCDPS Public Affairs Director.
One Port Royal police officer who had “minimum contact” with the woman is also in self-quarantine, said Port Royal Police Department Chief Alan Beach.
All three officers will remain in quarantine until results for a coronavirus test for the nurse comes back. Law enforcement referred inquiries about her test to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
DHEC told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette the agency “can’t comment in detail about a specific case” but said it is “working with county officials across the state to help protect first responders and law enforcement officials.”
“It’s a big concern”
Losing officers to self-quarantine raises concerns about first responder staffing levels as local governments face the pandemic.
Three sheriff deputies are under self-quarantine after they developed symptoms of respiratory illness similar to the virus, according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bob Bromage. He says their leave will have no impact on emergency response.
For smaller departments, like Port Royal’s police department which employs 25 officers, the loss of even one for an undetermined amount of time is likely to have an effect on policing.
“It’s a big concern,” said Port Royal Police Department Chief Alan Beach, “That’s why we wanted to err on the side of caution.”
It is an issue Beaufort City Manager Bill Prokop was concerned about at an emergency city council meeting on Thursday.
Prokop said Beaufort County first responders recently came to the scene of a man visiting from New York who was having a heart attack. EMS then discovered the man also tested positive for coronavirus, according to Prokop.
“Now we have four people in voluntary isolation for 48 hours until they get their test back. That means we have four people lost on a shift,” said Prokop.
On Monday, he amended his comments to The Island Packet. Prokop said the man who had the heart attack tested negative for the virus. Additionally, it was two EMS personnel, not four, for the county who were in self-quarantine and have since returned to active duty on news of the test.
“It’s a concern statewide, getting results quickly,” said Prokop. “That’s why we need these protocols in place and to get test results quickly finished.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 11:42 AM.
