New COVID-19 testing clinic set for Jasper County this week
A new coronavirus testing clinic has been scheduled in Jasper County this week.
The event is free, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
A “pop-up” clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Ridgeland Medical Center. Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services is organizing the clinic.
Three other mobile clinics were previously scheduled in the area:
A mobile clinic from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday at Battery Creek High School in Beaufort.
A drive-thru testing event from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday at Second Euhaw Baptist Church in Ridgeland. Coastal Carolina Hospital is listed as the clinic’s provider.
A testing site from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Aug. 5 at Hilton Head High School.
DHEC has reported a surge of coronavirus infections around the Palmetto State this month. As of Monday, more than 82,000 people in South Carolina have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, according to DHEC data.
New coronavirus cases announced in the past four weeks have accounted for nearly 50% of all cases discovered in the state since the pandemic began.
And health officials have reported that the statewide percentage of COVID-19 tests that return positive — an indicator of the coronavirus’ spread — has been high throughout July.
Beaufort County, meanwhile, logged a record-breaking daily high of newly confirmed cases on Monday, with 110 infections. The seven-day average Monday was 83 new cases reported every 24 hours in the county — the highest average this year.
“Our message to South Carolinians remains the same,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, a DHEC physician, during a conference call with reporters Friday. “Please help take care of each other because we really, really are all in this together.”
