Delta update: Here are the latest COVID-19 trends in Beaufort County as school resumes
There are virtually no signs that Beaufort County’s ongoing COVID-19 surge has slowed in recent days.
The county on Tuesday again reported more than 100 new cases. The seven-day average of newly confirmed infections, as of Tuesday, also increased to 136 cases per day, which is almost a record high.
And at least one new COVID-19 death was announced in the county Tuesday.
The only local trend that has slightly improved this week is Beaufort County’s positivity rate.
The average percentage of positive tests in the county, as of Sunday, was 19.5%, which is extremely high but still lower than the 22.5% recorded on Aug. 6.
Infections will likely continue to mount at a rapid clip in late August, however, and the return of K-12 classes may further exacerbate coronavirus transmission.
Dr. Faith Polkey, chief clinical officer at Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, has said that pediatricians are expecting a surge of cases in the two to four weeks after schools reopen.
The Beaufort County School District resumed in-person learning Monday. Children younger than 12 are still ineligible for coronavirus vaccines.
“I’m greatly concerned that this school year could be a perfect storm for disease spread if we have unvaccinated and unmasked students and teachers together,” said Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s top epidemiologist.
School trends
The pathogen is already impacting local schools.
Hilton Head Island High School announced Monday that it will suspend its football program until at least Aug. 23 for “a few positive cases of COVID” on the team and “additional individuals quarantining as close contacts.”
As of Sunday evening, BCSD spokesperson Candace Bruder said the district had reported roughly 250 people in active quarantines for COVID-19 exposures. That’s about 1% of the district’s total population of students and staff.
The district also reported 60 active coronavirus infections, 11 of which were staff.
Including the football program’s suspension, at least four team sports at four different Beaufort County high schools — Battery Creek, Beaufort, Hilton Head and May River — have been impacted by COVID-19 this month.
Hospital restrictions
Beaufort Memorial Hospital on Tuesday also announced new visitor restrictions due to the region’s wave of COVID-19 cases.
Visitors will not be permitted in the hospital starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, except under these circumstances: one parent per minor child can visit the emergency room, one visitor per patient can come to the labor and delivery area, one visitor per patient can be in the pediatric unit, and one visitor per patient can be on hand for discharge planning in the acute inpatient rehab unit. Visitors for patients “requiring assistance and end-of-life care will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” according to a news release from the hospital.
The medical center also said that Express Care clinic waiting areas will be closed.
“Patients visiting the Port Royal and Bluffton Express Care locations will be asked to park, call the clinic phone number and wait to be seen by a provider. No visitors will be allowed into the clinics,” the news release read.
All hospital and outpatient clinic waiting rooms will be closed to visitors, too.
“Caregivers will be asked to wait in their cars pending notification that the patient is ready to leave,” according to the news release.
Countywide data
Here’s the latest coronavirus data for Beaufort County from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
New cases reported Tuesday: 107 confirmed, 6 probable
New deaths reported Tuesday: at least 1 confirmed
Seven-day average of new cases: 136 confirmed infections per day
Two-week incidence rate: 1,155 cases per 100,000 people
Vaccination rate: 43.8% of the county’s population has been fully vaccinated
ZIP code data as of Sunday
Bluffton ZIP code, 29910: 906 cases since July 1
Hilton Head Island ZIP code, 29926: 312 cases
Hilton Head ZIP code, 29928: 141 cases
Beaufort ZIP code, 29902: 460 cases
Okatie ZIP code, 29909: 216 cases
