Beaufort hospital eases COVID-19 visitor restrictions. How bad is the local outbreak?
Beaufort Memorial Hospital has relaxed its COVID-19 visitor restrictions as the Lowcountry’s latest coronavirus surge continues to recede.
The hospital’s updated visiting policy went into effect Thursday. The medical center in mid-August had limited most visitors amid a record-breaking wave of delta variant infections.
Hospital inpatients may now have up to two visitors per day between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Masks are still required at the hospital. Visitors must be at least 18 years old and cannot have COVID-19 symptoms.
Coronavirus patients and those suspected of having COVID-19 cannot have visitors.
Each patient in the emergency room also is allowed one visitor, although exceptions are made for parents of minors.
Visitors only are allowed into the hospital’s intensive care unit in “extenuating circumstances.”
Patients at the hospital’s outpatient facilities and physician’s practices are allowed one visitor in waiting rooms and care areas. The same rules apply to the Beaufort Memorial Express Care & Occupational Health clinics.
The hospital, as of Thursday, was treating 19 coronavirus patients, with seven of those people in the ICU. Roughly 89% of the COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated, hospital data show.
In comparison, the medical center on Oct. 7 had 23 COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Brannon Traxler, the state’s public health director, during a Wednesday briefing with reporters noted that infections have been dropping across South Carolina this month.
“We can’t rest on these successes,” though, Traxler said. “Numbers can fluctuate at any point for a number of reasons.”
Countywide data
Here are the latest Beaufort County coronavirus numbers from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
New cases reported Friday: 22 confirmed, six probable
New cases reported Thursday: 22 confirmed, six probable
New cases reported Wednesday: Nine confirmed, 14 probable
New deaths reported from Wednesday to Friday: Three confirmed
Seven-day average of new cases: 19 infections per day
Two-week case rate: 271.7 infections per 100,000 people
Vaccination rate: 51.4% of residents have been fully vaccinated
ZIP code data since July 1
Bluffton ZIP code, 29910: 2,678 cases
Hilton Head Island ZIP code, 29926: 1,048 cases
Hilton Head Island ZIP code, 29928: 430 cases
Okatie ZIP code, 29909: 714 cases
Beaufort ZIP code, 29902: 1,286 cases
St. Helena Island ZIP code, 29920: 418 cases
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 9:35 AM.
