How will Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandates impact Beaufort County? Details are unclear
The battle against COVID-19 is about to ramp up with sprawling new vaccine mandates from the federal government.
At the same time, clashes between Republican politicians and the White House are intensifying, plunging South Carolina into uncharted territory as elected officials debate how best to combat the virus.
President Joe Biden on Thursday instructed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to draft a rule requiring private businesses with 100 or more workers to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or weekly coronavirus testing for unvaccinated employees. Biden also told the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to enforce vaccine mandates in hospitals and other health care facilities.
“The time for waiting is over,” said Biden, whose actions will affect more than 80 million American workers.
But South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster in a Thursday tweet wrote that he will fight Biden and other Democrats “to the gates of hell” to oppose the president’s vaccine requirements. And the Republican National Committee immediately said that it’s planning to challenge the new mandates in court.
What does that mean for Beaufort County?
It’s still unknown. OSHA, as of late Friday afternoon, had not released its “Emergency Temporary Standard” on vaccine mandates.
Will franchises be impacted in different ways than local businesses? What about corporate groups that include multiple limited liability companies?
Even the new vaccine requirements for health care facilities were difficult to make sense of Friday.
Russell Baxley, CEO of Beaufort Memorial Hospital, in a Friday statement wrote that the medical center will review Biden’s remarks and could not immediately comment on how the news will impact the hospital, which as of 12:30 p.m. Friday had not implemented a vaccine mandate for staff.
A spokeswoman for Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals, meanwhile, did not respond to a request for comment.
Countywide case trends
Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases has continued to drop in recent days, which is a promising sign for the Lowcountry. The region’s latest coronavirus surge appears to be be subsiding.
Here are the latest COVID-19 data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
New cases reported Friday: 44 confirmed, 19 probable
New cases reported Thursday: 51 confirmed, 117 probable
New deaths reported from Thursday to Friday: 2 confirmed, 1 probable
Seven-day average of new cases: 79 confirmed infections per day
Two-week incidence rate: 1,074 cases per 100,000 people
ZIP code data as of Wednesday
Bluffton ZIP code, 29910: 2,091 cases since July 1
Hilton Head Island ZIP code, 29926: 796 cases
Hilton Head ZIP code, 29928: 321 cases
Beaufort ZIP code, 29902: 933 cases
Okatie ZIP code, 29909: 504 cases
