Where to get tested for coronavirus for free on Hilton Head, St. Helena islands
Editor’s Note: The June 29 testing location has been moved to Hilton Head Island High School.
Two new mobile coronavirus testing sites will be open this month for Beaufort County residents to get free testing for the virus.
The first clinic is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Leroy E. Browne Medical Center on St. Helena Island, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The second free clinic, the first on Hilton Head Island, is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 29 at the Hilton Head Island High School.
Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services is running the St. Helena clinic, and Hilton Head Regional Healthcare is running the Hilton Head clinic.
The new clinic announcements come as Beaufort County residents become more vocal about the sparse free testing opportunities in the county. Although many physicians’ offices and hospitals offer testing, there have been no state-funded free testing sites available in Beaufort County until this week.
As of late Tuesday, roughly 267,000 coronavirus tests have been performed in South Carolina since the pandemic began, according to DHEC data.
DHEC in early May set out to test 2% of the state’s population during May and June, for a combined total of 220,000 tests. DHEC met its May goal, but has yet to reach 110,000 tests this month.
The state’s testing push comes amid a surge in new cases around South Carolina, including in the Lowcountry.
Beaufort County on Tuesday recorded its highest seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases this year. And the county tied its single-day record high of newly confirmed cases, which is 33.
The county has posted double-digit increases in case numbers for nine days straight.
The head of Beaufort Memorial Hospital last week said he was getting worried about an uptick in symptomatic people coming to the medical center and testing positive for COVID-19.
“We are seeing another surge in Beaufort County and South Carolina,” said hospital CEO Russell Baxley on June 11. “This is not over.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 9:22 AM.
