Coronavirus monitoring: DHEC testing patients as Grand Strand hospitals take precautions
South Carolina health officials are monitoring more than a dozen potential cases of coronavirus as Horry County hospitals begin implementing measures to limit the global outbreak’s potential local impact.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control is actively monitoring 13 people for COVID-19, commonly referred to as coronavirus, as of Wednesday morning, according to their website.
To date, the department has completed monitoring for 49 people, with no positive tests and five negative tests.
DHEC is the only organization in the state currently with testing kits provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the virus.
Katie Maclay, spokeswoman for Grand Strand Health, said protocol for a suspected coronavirus patient is to immediately isolate them with appropriate contact and respiratory precautions, collect a required sample, send the sample to DHEC in Columbia for initial testing, and then a final test would be performed by the CDC in Atlanta before confirming a diagnosis.
Grand Strand Health began limiting public entrances to its hospital Wednesday only to the ER and main entrance with greeters at those entrances screening visitors with basic questions so a suspected coronavirus patient gets the care they need without other patients and staff, according to a press release.
The hospital is also limiting visitors to two guests over the age of 12 at a time between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., while asking those with a fever, a cough or shortness of breath that traveled internationally during the past 14 days, or who have had direct contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 to avoid visiting the hospital.
“For many people, COVID-19 will present very similarly to the flu and they will recover safely at home with rest and fluids,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Andrew Schwartz said in the release. “Those at highest risk are the elderly and immunosuppressed. The best protection right now is hand washing, covering your cough and avoiding large groups of people.”
Conway Medical Center is also screening all patients, including those visiting their provider offices, and asking about recent travel history or potential contact with an infected person, according to spokeswoman Allyson Floyd.
The center has also placed signs at its entrances instructing visitors with respiratory to wear a mask and urging the public to come to their emergency department if they have concerns due to travel history or exposure.
CMC will begin facility-wide education on the virus Wednesday, and they’ve already educated staff on “sparing,” meaning to try and avoid waste and minimize usage in case of a reduction in availability or delayed shipments on supplies including isolation gowns and coveralls, as well as face masks, both surgical and isolation, and surgical drapes, according to Floyd.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 12:29 PM.
