COVID spike pushes Horry County government to close some buildings to the public

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging in Horry County, causing the local government to close some buildings to the public, a stark reminder of the early days of the pandemic.

Some buildings will limit capacity while others will close to the public completely, according to a Facebook post from Horry County government. When possible, people should handle their business and transactions online, the post said.

The Horry County Treasurer’s Office will only use its drive-thru windows at its Conway, Little River and South Strand locations. Its Myrtle Beach location has a drop box that will be checked several times a day, and payments can be made online through an e-check option.

The auditor’s office will close to the public, the post said. Staff will be in the office to handle calls, and a drop box is set up for paperwork and documents.

The M.L. Brown Public Safety Building, Horry County Police Department police precincts and Horry County Fire Rescue fire stations will be accepting appointments and people are asked to call the departments ahead of their visit.

The changes will take affect Tuesday in response to the rising level of COVID-19 cases in the county.

Horry County hospitalizations have skyrocketed over the last few weeks, pushing some local hospital systems toward or past their capacity. At the end of June, hospitals reported single-digit numbers of inpatient COVID cases, but are now treating dozens patients at a given time.

Around 43% of the county is fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Horry County has one of the highest vaccination rates in the state, but it’s still not where doctors say it should be to reach “herd immunity,” which is expected to be between 70 and 80% of the population immunized.

More than 1,800 cases have been reported in Horry in the last week, and 84 new hospital admissions have happened in that time frame.

This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 11:59 AM.