Hosting Thanksgiving dinner in Beaufort Co. or traveling? Where to get tested for COVID-19
Thanksgiving dinner won’t be the same this year.
To protect loved ones from COVID-19, experts are urging South Carolinians to adopt a slew of safety precautions this holiday season.
“We’re entering the most dangerous time of the year in terms of COVID-19,” said Dr. Jane Kelly, assistant state epidemiologist at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. “People are indoors more, and there are more risks for exchanging viruses.”
Here’s how you can prepare for Thanksgiving Day, according DHEC and other public health officials:
Get tested for the coronavirus
Kelly is urging residents to get tested for SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, before and after traveling across the Palmetto State — or country — to attend a Thanksgiving dinner.
There are several SARS-CoV-2 testing options available in Beaufort and Jasper counties:
Free outpatient tests at Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals on weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon. No appointments or doctors’ referrals are needed. Results are typically available within 72 hours, according to Tenet Healthcare, which owns the medical centers.
Free outpatient tests at Beaufort Memorial Hospital on Tuesdays from noon to 2 p.m. at 990 Ribaut Road. A doctor’s note is not required. Patients are asked to fill out a pre-testing form, though. The hospital says results should be expected in five to seven days.
Free outpatient tests at Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s new Okatie Medical Pavilion on Wednesdays starting Nov. 18 from noon to 2 p.m. No doctors’ referrals or appointments are needed. The building is located at 122 Okatie Center Boulevard North.
Free outpatient tests at a DHEC-run clinic in Bluffton at 4819 Bluffton Parkway #132. The clinic is open 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays. DHEC’s public lab is processing test results within 24 to 48 hours, according to the state agency. An appointment is needed: (855) 472-3432.
Free outpatient tests at the Jasper County Health Department in Ridgeland on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The building is located at 651 Grays Highway. An appointment is needed: (855) 472-3432. No doctors’ referrals are required.
Private practices around the county are also offering COVID-19 tests, including in Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head and Lady’s Island. Information on those options can be found at https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations.
The American College Health Association, meanwhile, is encouraging students to get tested before leaving school and again after arriving home.
Several states also have travel restrictions that require visitors to get tested before arrival or quarantine once there.
Wear a mask while indoors
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is suggesting that families wear masks, even when indoors, if around others who aren’t typically inside their household.
The CDC also says people should try to host outdoor gatherings with local friends or family, if possible. Large indoor gatherings with strangers is one of the most dangerous options for Thanksgiving dinner, according to DHEC.
If you end up eating inside, try to improve your home’s air circulation by opening windows or doors, the CDC says.
While people are attending holiday events, the CDC is encouraging people to wash their hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol.
No hugging, CDC says
The nation’s top health protection agency is recommending that families not hug, shake hands or bump elbows.
The CDC also says people should maintain a distance of six feet or more if around others they don’t know.
“We’ll be tempted to celebrate with family and friends like we would normally during any other year, but this is not a normal year,” said Kelly, of DHEC. “Without taking the proper precautions, the potential for skyrocketing cases and deaths is very possible.”
Michael Sweat, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina who leads the COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project, previously said that, given the level of disease spread in the state, if you really care about your loved ones, consider skipping Thanksgiving dinner this year.
The stakes are high
Public health experts have long warned that holiday gatherings could lead to a spike in SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
They have ample reason to worry: A recent CDC study found that in Wisconsin and Tennessee, the virus spread rapidly through households and could originate in both children and adults.
“Secondary infections occurred rapidly, with approximately 75% of infections identified within 5 days of the index patient’s illness onset,” the study read.
Dr. Stephen Larson, owner of Sea Pines Circle Immediate Care Clinic on Hilton Head Island, previously said that family gatherings could be “brutal.”
“The virus doesn’t give us a break for holidays,” said Larson, who’s also the medical director of Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s emergency center.
Holiday-related infections will coincide with the nation’s third wave of cases, which has already inundated states like Texas with COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The United States logged another record-breaking high Friday, announcing over 132,700 new infections in a single day.
DHEC, meanwhile, is growing increasingly concerned that the third wave has reached South Carolina.
Kelly, during a conference call with reporters Thursday, noted a rapid increase in cases across the Upstate.
The seven-day average of positive COVID-19 tests in the state was also 13.9% as of Saturday. It was 10.2% in Beaufort County.
The county has seen a steady rise in that key metric since mid-October, when the seven-day average of positive tests bottomed out at 3.9%.
“It’s an increase we’ve been worried would occur, as weather got colder,” Kelly said. “It’s an increase that we’ve been anxious about and sorry to be reporting that we’re starting to see it, but it’s not too late for people to ratchet back to the activities they were pursuing earlier that was keeping South Carolina down lower.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 4:35 AM.
