Beaufort hospital to close Okatie express care center due to COVID-19 surge. What to know
Beaufort Memorial Hospital is temporarily closing its Express Care clinic at the Okatie Medical Pavilion due to the Lowcountry’s ongoing wave of COVID-19 cases.
Courtney McDermott, a hospital spokeswoman, in a text Friday wrote that the medical center is not sure how long the closure will last. The closure starts Monday.
The express care clinic in Okatie will reopen likely when “we are no longer surging,” McDermott wrote.
All express care visits will now be seen at the hospital’s May River Medical Pavilion at 1 Burnt Church Road in Bluffton or at the Port Royal Medical Pavilion at 1680 Ribaut Road in Port Royal, according to a news release from the hospital.
“This truly is a perfect storm in terms of a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the delta variant, an increased demand in testing, and a resurgence of demand for the vaccine,” wrote hospital CEO Russell Baxley. “And, like most hospitals across the nation, we were already struggling with staffing shortages. These changes will allow us to focus our resources where we can be most effective for our patients.”
Beaufort County in the past two weeks has recorded a major spike in coronavirus transmission.
The county on Friday logged a record 231 new COVID-19 cases as the delta variant continued to sweep the state.
The previous single-day high was 227 cases on Jan. 8, which was the peak of South Carolina’s winter surge.
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of Friday, also spiked to 133 infections per day, which set a new record.
Health experts attribute the recent surge to South Carolina’s lagging vaccination rate and the super-contagious delta variant, which was first discovered in India late last year.
Baxley in a Thursday interview urged unvaccinated residents to roll up their sleeves for a shot.
“The studies are out there. This is our ultimate defense against this disease,” he said.
Only about 43.5% of Beaufort County’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to U.S. Census Bureau data and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 5:01 PM.
