Spike in coronavirus cases among Beaufort Co. teenagers, young adults drove June surge
A sharp uptick in the number of young people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Beaufort County drove the area’s surge in coronavirus cases last month, state data show.
In June, 25.2% of new cases in the county — 225 of almost 900 total — were recorded among 21- to 30-year-olds, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data.
Kids and young adults aged 11 to 20, meanwhile, accounted for 200 cases last month, or 22.4% of confirmed infections in the county — the second-highest percentage.
“They perceive that they’re more safe,” said Kathleen Cartmell, a public health professor at Clemson University, of young people. “That’s why we’re seeing a lot more cases.”
In comparison to the first few months of the pandemic, COVID-19 cases in Beaufort County among 11- to 20-year-olds increased 292% in June. Cases among 21- to 30-year-olds also shot up 171% compared to the total number of county cases recorded in that age range from the start of the pandemic to May 28.
DHEC sounded the alarm last week about young people increasingly contracting the coronavirus statewide. Public health officials on June 30 reported a recent 966% rise in new cases among the 11-20 age range across South Carolina and a 413% jump for those aged 21 to 30.
“In addition to the disheartening increases in young people transmitting the virus to their family and friends, new data indicate that asymptomatic people can spread the virus more easily than initially thought,” wrote Dr. Linda Bell, DHEC’s top epidemiologist, in a statement at the time.
And Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, during a video conference Tuesday said leaders around the country didn’t expect the recent level of community spread among young Americans aged 18 to 35.
“This is an age group that was so good and so disciplined through March and April. But when they saw people out and about on social media, they all went out and about. And so we right now have really significant cases in people under 45,” Birx said during the online event, which was hosted by the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank.
Beaufort County logged 893 new COVID-19 cases in June. Before that, it had reported only about 380. As of Wednesday, 1,680 infections had been discovered in the county since the start of the pandemic, according to DHEC.
Beaufort Memorial Hospital recorded a spike in younger people testing positive for COVID-19 last month, particularly among the 18-30 and 31-40 age ranges, its top executive said in an interview July 1.
“They’ve caught and passed all other age groups in about a month’s time,” said hospital CEO Russell Baxley.
In a statement last Monday, a Beaufort Memorial Hospital spokesperson added that a handful of people in their 20s had been admitted as inpatients during the pandemic, but they all recovered and were discharged within a few days.
“These have tended to be people in the workforce with workplace exposures, as well as social exposures (restaurants, grad parties, social gatherings),” spokesperson Courtney McDermott wrote.
The Hilton Head Regional Healthcare system also noticed more young people testing positive last month, but saw no corresponding spike in hospitalizations, a Tenet Healthcare spokesperson wrote in a June 29 statement. Tenet owns Hilton Head Hospital and Coastal Carolina Hospital.
People aged 31 to 40 in Beaufort County accounted for 13.3% of cases in June, DHEC data show. And cases among that age range increased 176% last month compared to the number of those cases reported before May 29.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases among those 81 or older in Beaufort County accounted for only 1.7% of cases in June — the lowest percentage. And a total of 11.3% of confirmed infections were recorded in the 61-70 and 71-80 age ranges.
Almost every age group, though, saw an overall percentage increase in the number of diagnosed cases last month compared to the number of cases in those ranges identified prior to May 29.
South Carolina — and Beaufort County — logged high numbers of newly confirmed coronavirus infections in June, and that trend has continued into July. Public health officials say a lack of social distancing and increased travel around the state have contributed to the surge, among other things.
“We’re not as cautious as we should be, especially in the younger age groups,” Baxley said.
“The science is out there that, while you may be mildly affected or unaffected by (the coronavirus), as a carrier you could then pass it on to somebody else who could be more affected, and so it’s really about your social responsibility to your fellow man, to protect them,” the CEO said. “If you don’t want to protect yourself, think about the next person and protect them.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 12:21 PM.
