Residents stuck in cars for hours Monday in long line for Hilton Head COVID-19 tests
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COVID-19 in the Lowcountry
Here’s the latest on the omicron variant surge, COVID-19 guidance and more in the Lowcountry.
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The overwhelming demand for COVID-19 tests led to an hourslong headache for Hilton Head Island residents Monday morning as traffic came to a standstill on Squire Pope Road near a state-run coronavirus testing site.
One Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reporter waited in his car for almost three hours to get tested.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control runs the free testing site at Fire Station 4, 400 Squire Pope Road, where it offers polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests.
The super contagious omicron variant has led to record-breaking COVID-19 case counts across the Palmetto State in recent days, and testing sites have been inundated with people trying to confirm whether they are infected.
Dozens of cars snaked down Squire Pope Road on Monday and looped around the fire station. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and Hilton Head Plantation both warned residents about the traffic jam.
“There’s a high demand (for testing), and they’re trying to cycle them through as quickly as possible,” Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue spokesperson Joheida Fister said.
Vehicles were backed up on Squire Pope Road, Fister said, well past the traffic circle and toward the intersection of U.S. 278. At one point, the traffic also had reached the Gumtree Road-Wild Horse Road intersection, she said.
DHEC, as of early Monday, said the average turnaround time for PCR test results in South Carolina was two to three days, but in some cases the turnaround times were five to seven days.
The Squire Pope Road testing site is typically open Mondays from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., Fister said.
The town on Friday also announced that it had partnered with BrightStar Care, a home health care provider, to host free PCR drive-thru testing at Chaplin Community Park, 11 Castnet Drive, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting this week.
Although it is not required, clinic organizers recommend that people pre-register for testing at the Chaplin site: bit.ly/ChaplinParkTesting
This story has been updated with additional information.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 10:45 AM.
