Coronavirus in Myrtle Beach: The story of how Horry County experienced life in a pandemic
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Horry County Coronavirus Diaries
The coronavirus has upended life for everyone. Here is a look at the toll the virus’ impacts have had on our neighbors in Horry County. A nurse, a waitress, a pastor, a retiree and a family grappling with job loss all tell their stories.
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I’m really just ready for it to be over with.
This is the worst thing in my whole life.
I had a bit of a breakdown.
There were few changes when the calendar flipped to 2020. The biggest for many of us was remembering to change the “19” to “20” on the dateline. We forgot a few more times than we’d like, and told ourselves we’d have it down by March.
Our routines went unchanged. The kids got ready for school, and somehow could never find matching shoes. The boss at work blew up at us, even though it was someone else’s fault. Gammy and pop-pop implored the family to visit the Myrtle Beach area, after all they hadn’t been down to see the retirement home.
We got mad when someone hit reply-all to an email, when our 14-year-old missed curfew or when the slow person held up the self-checkout lane.
GRRRRRRR!
Then March brought us coronavirus in Horry County. Our annoyances from earlier seemed petty at best. Masks, social distancing, virtual school became part of our routines. Restrictions limited our movement and made us prisoners in our own homes.
The number of cases grew and our world shrank.
Coronavirus didn’t care if you were a pastor in Little River, raising your family in Surfside Beach, serving waffles in Aynor, riding a bike in Forestbrook or serving on the healthcare frontlines. Everyone felt coronavirus’ impacts even without getting sick.
Those five groups spent the last two months describing to The Sun News how they dealt with COVID-19. Some lost jobs, some faced losing their home, some had to change decades-old traditions and some became teachers overnight. They got mad and frustrated and angry and sad and worried and looked for the silver lining.
It’s the same feelings we all had over the last two months. We got mad and frustrated and angry and sad and worried and looked for the silver lining. While we spent the pandemic apart, we are bonded by the shared emotional experience.
Their story of living in a pandemic is our story.
It’s the story of us.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 9:30 AM.
