Bluffton Boys & Girls Club closes after parent with COVID-19 allowed children to attend
The Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton has shut down after a parent who tested positive for COVID-19 “knowingly” allowed her children to attend the club’s summer camp, according to a letter from the center’s unit director.
Jaala Miller, the center’s assistant director, said in an interview Wednesday that a child on Monday sneezed, and a staff member asked the child to cover their mouth, even though the child was wearing a mask.
The child replied that they were fine, but added that their mother had tested positive for COVID-19, according to Miller.
The club immediately sent the child and a sibling to the center’s “quarantine room,” an enclosed foyer area, and called their home, Miller said.
Once reached, a parent confirmed to the club that someone in the household had tested positive, Miller said.
The children were then sent home, and the center contacted the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The club also asked the family to get the children tested for the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, one of the children tested positive for COVID-19, according to Miller. The club’s unit director, Molly Hornbeak, around 2 p.m. confirmed the test results with a parent.
After that, Miller said, the club started to call other parents to tell them about the situation. The club allowed early pick-ups, she said, and fully shut down the center later that day.
Hornbeak also wrote a letter to parents about the positive results, Miller said.
DHEC’s advice, she added, was to encourage parents to quarantine their kids and monitor them for symptoms.
The club also informed some staff members that they may have been in close contact with the child who tested positive, Miller said. A few staffers have since been tested.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Miller said Wednesday, adding that the club’s staff has been working hard to make sure children are safe amid the pandemic.
The club doesn’t allow parents inside its facility, has been taking kids’ temperatures, cleans constantly and has reduced capacity this summer from 400 to 120 slots, she said.
The center is being cleaned and plans to reopen Sept. 8, when the Beaufort County School District begins online-only instruction, Miller said.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 5:59 PM.
