Beaufort County is a COVID-19 ‘hotspot,’ Biden administration warns. What that means
Beaufort County is officially a COVID-19 “hotspot,” according to a new report from the Biden administration.
The report, which was published online Tuesday, illustrates how quickly the county’s coronavirus outbreak has spiraled into dangerous territory.
As recently as July 19, Beaufort County was listed as having a “low or moderate burden” of COVID-19 activity, according to a previous report from the administration.
Over the course of two weeks, though, the county’s case trends have worsened to levels last seen during the tail end of South Carolina’s winter surge.
The report, which was created by the White House COVID-19 Team, shows that:
The county, as of Sunday, had recorded a “rapid rise” in coronavirus cases over the past 14 days. The county on Sunday had a high level of COVID-19 spread.
Beaufort County’s seven-day case rate, as of Sunday, was 254 infections per 100,000 people. Cases had risen 182% from the seven days prior. There were 488 cases reported from July 26 to Sunday.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past seven days, as of Saturday, had spiked 362% from the week prior. There were 37 confirmed COVID-19 admissions last week, and 91% of Beaufort County’s inpatient beds were occupied, according to federal data. Coronavirus patients were in 8% of the county’s inpatient beds and 15% of the county’s staffed ICU beds for adults.
Only one COVID-19 death, as of Sunday, had been reported in Beaufort County over the past week.
The county’s case trajectory was listed as “uncertain.” That’s better than the “likely increasing” designation.
It’s unclear whether the Lowcountry’s latest COVID-19 uptick will rival the region’s winter surge. There’s simply fewer people susceptible to the pathogen now.
Roughly 43% of the county’s estimated population has been fully vaccinated. And the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have remained effective against the super-contagious Delta variant, which is driving the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, experts say.
Infections have also shifted into younger age groups. Children and teenagers are typically less prone to severe illness.
Regardless, Americans will likely experience more “pain and suffering” in the coming weeks, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases.
“We keep saying over and over again, the solution to this is to get vaccinated,” Fauci said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
