‘I encourage anybody to please take precautions’: Horry County sees spike in COVID cases

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Horry County has seen an increase in COVID cases in the past couple of weeks.

Grand Strand Medical Center’s Infection Prevention Director Mary Scott says although Horry County is currently marked in red on the CDC’s COVID map, cases are generally not as severe.

“We have none on a vent today, and I think we’ve only had in the past six weeks, we’ve had maybe a couple on a vent, so not as severe as what we’ve had,” said Scott. “The deaths that we’ve had from COVID, they were very ill with lots of comorbidities to begin with, so that’s why it’s important to get vaccinated.”

According to Scott, there are roughly 195 cases in the county, which she says is high. However, she also says it may be too early to tell whether or not there is a cause for concern, as much of the spike can be attributed to the season. Other infections, like RSV, the flu and strep throat, are also spreading.

“We usually see a little bit of a break about March, April,” Scott said. “I encourage anybody to please take precautions if they possibly can. Wearing a mask, washing your hands, getting vaccinated is still huge.”

Scott says the CDC may recommend stricter masking requirements if case numbers stay high.

Across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee medical facilities have been enforcing their mask requirements. McLeod Health reinstated its masking requirement in all of its facilities on Monday. Grand Strand stopped requiring masks for three weeks but reversed its decision after the start of the new year as cases began to rise.

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