Coronavirus live updates for March 29: Here’s the latest in the Myrtle Beach area
The Grand Strand area should see tourists begin to leave Sunday as numerous municipal and county governments have issued orders prohibiting hotels and accommodations services from accepting visitors and new reservations until May in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Visitors specifically in Myrtle Beach are required to leave by noon Sunday, though there are some exemptions, including those occupying units since the beginning of March.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an order requiring visitors from highly impacted areas, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to quarantine for two weeks, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging residents from those areas to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days.
Updates on COVID-19 cases and deaths
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported the second coronavirus-related death in Horry County Saturday, which Tidelands Health confirmed was a patient at one of its hospitals, along with four additional cases.
There have now been 28 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Horry, along with six in Georgetown County, among 660 cases confirmed in South Carolina. The state has also reported a total of 15 deaths related to the virus.
Latest stories in the Grand Strand
Horry County Police Department issued 10 citations Saturday while monitoring the beaches and waterways to groups not following social distancing practices among groups of non-family members exceeding three.
Local hotel owners are occupancy rates had already slid steeply following the decision by many municipal and county governments to restrict new renters, while quarantine for two weeks.
DHEC released a breakdown of positive coronavirus cases by zip code. Myrtle Beach zip codes 29577 and 29588 had the highest number of cases in the county.
South Carolina state parks are closed through April. Parks impacted along the Grand Strand include Myrtle Beach State Park and Huntington Beach State Park.
Horry County led the state in the most unemployment claims due to the coronavirus outbreak. In the last week, more than 5,000 Horry County residents applied for unemployment benefits, according to information from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
South Carolina received its second shipment of personal protective equipment from the Strategic National Stockpile, according to a DHEC release. Horry County received more than 2,500 N95 respirators, 6,000 masks, 3,000 gloves, more than 1,000 face shields, nearly 1,000 surgical gowns and several coveralls, DHEC reports.
This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 10:28 AM.
