Coronavirus: Myrtle Beach declares state of emergency after cases confirmed in Horry County
This story has been updated.
With the news of the area’s first confirmed case of coronavirus, Myrtle Beach officials have declared a state of emergency.
The announcement comes just one day after officials issued public assurance the city would continue to operate as normal and welcome tourists in to enjoy their vacations, despite both the state, Horry County and surrounding towns declaring state of emergencies.
“We are at OPCON 2,” City Spokesperson Mark Kruea said.
Currently, all public buildings will remain open for employees only, but that’s subject to change this week, Kruea said.
The spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19, has led to emergency measures across South Carolina and Horry County, which announced its first case Sunday.
Health officials confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday night.
Grand Strand Medical Center provided a statement on Sunday morning confirming that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control informed the facility that a patient tested positive for COVID-19.
“The patient is in isolation. We have been working with SCDHEC to identify and contact colleagues who may have been in contact with the patient,” according to the statement.
Before the patient tested positive, Grand Strand had already started to screen all people who enter the hospital. No one older than 69 or under 18 years old can visit.
“We will continue to reinforce infection prevention protocols and are working in partnership with SCDHEC and local and state agencies,” Grand Strand officials noted.
SCDHEC announced two new cases in Horry County Sunday afternoon, bringing the total to three local cases.
“The cases are elderly individuals who had known exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19 from another state. The cases are currently isolated at home,” DHEC stated in a news release of the two new cases.
The Myrtle Beach Government provided updates on several of its services in a news release Friday afternoon:
- City meetings and city-related events scheduled for this week have been postponed.
- Municipal court, including the new Quality of Life Court, will be rescheduled.
- Solid waste services will continue as usual.
- The city’s water system is safe and will continue without interruption.
- Myrtle Beach will increase sanitary measures by using disinfectant to wipe down high-contact public counters and door handles.
- 911 dispatchers are pre-screening calls to determine identify ones with respiratory distress involved.
- The city reminded that utility payment drop boxes are available at the City Services building and noted that you can pay online.
- Myrtle Beach is suspending water cutoffs during the emergency period.
- The city reminded citizens to visit its website and Facebook page to keep up with updates.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 3:23 PM.
