Coronavirus live updates for March 23: Here’s the latest in the Myrtle Beach area
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, have reached double digits in Horry County as the area continues to be impacted by school closures and businesses with limited services.
As of Monday morning, South Carolina has 195 cases of the coronavirus, with three deaths. There are no reported deaths from the virus in the Myrtle Beach area.
Here are takeaways for March 23:
- Spectrum customers in the Carolina Forest area are reporting internet outages as more people are working from home.
- Though schools remain closed, there are things children can do outside or allow them to explore their creative sides.
- Horry County Schools is offering pick-up and delivery meals for students. Here is information about where to pick up breakfast and lunch and how to get meals delivered.
- Local beaches remain open, but officials say they have increased social-distancing enforcement.
- CentraArchy Restaurants — whose lineup includes local eateries California Dreaming, Carolina Roadhouse, Gulfstream Cafe and New York Prime — announced the closure of its businesses with hopes of reopening April 6.
- The Myrtle Beach Food Truck Festival is postponed to the fall.
- The Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach state parks will be closed Wednesday and Thursday as the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism announced all of the state’s such facilities will shut down those days as the agency evaluates policies amid the coronavirus threat. The parks will reopen Friday.
- Grand Strand Medical Center has operationalized a million-dollar mobile hospital system to treat suspected coronavirus cases. The BLU-MED tents will be used for patients with less severe symptoms and for those who may have been exposed to another case in order to treat them quickly and allow them to go back home for self-isolation and to recover.
In case you missed it: S.C. Governor Henry McMaster has allowed restaurants to serve beer and wine through curbside pick up. State restaurants and bars dine-in services remain closed, but spots across the Grand Strand are offering to-go and curbside pick ups.
Here’s a graph showing how the coronavirus cases have increased to date in Horry County. The Myrtle Beach area’s first confirmed coronavirus case was announced on March 15.
Wash your hands
Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds could help prevent the spread of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Avoid touching your face with unclean hands, the CDC recommends.
People should avoid close contact with those who are sick, the CDC says. And, if you are sick, stay home, the CDC recommends.
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This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 12:09 PM.
