Epidemiologist ‘absolutely troubled’ by South Carolinians’ refusal to wear masks
For months, Dr. Linda Bell has stood by Gov. Henry McMaster’s side at press conferences, serving as the public face for a pandemic she never saw coming.
In a calm, measured tone, she’s repeatedly expressed to South Carolinians the importance of wearing masks and social distancing. Her messaging has been consistent: COVID-19 is highly contagious. Every case number is a human being. Wearing masks can save lives.
Yet, despite her pleas for caution and civic responsibility, COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in the state since McMaster lifted his stay-at-home order in early May. Since June 22, more than 1,000 cases have been reported every day except one. If South Carolina were a country, it would be experiencing the third-worst coronavirus outbreak rate in the world, according to New York Times data over a seven-day period from June 28 to July 4.
Cases have surged to over 50,000, and more than 900 South Carolinians have died, with cases spiking after gatherings during Memorial Day weekend. As the state’s chief epidemiologist, Bell doesn’t have the power to mandate mask-wearing or social distancing. She can advise, educate and warn. But she can’t force South Carolinians to wear masks.
Is it frustrating to see citizens ignore her warnings? To see people gather without masks? To see the numbers rise due to unsafe practices?
“I don’t think frustrated is the right word,” Bell told The State. “I’m absolutely troubled as to why a population of people who are witnessing what’s going on cannot make that sacrifice to stop the deaths and stop the hospitalizations so we can turn this curve around much more rapidly than we’re doing now, or many more people will suffer the consequences.”
Bell has worked for South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control since 1993. She’s spent nearly her entire career studying infectious diseases, including outbreaks of H1N1 and Ebola, yet she said no virus she’s ever studied compares to COVID-19.
Before COVID-19, Bell would split her time working on the control of vaccine-preventable diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory illnesses and other diseases. Now 95% of her time is devoted to fighting COVID-19, Bell said. Since March, Bell and her team have spent almost every second of every day, Monday through Sunday, investigating the virus, poring over data and communicating with scientists and doctors around the country.
By necessity, her job has become much more public, with the pandemic thrusting Bell into the local spotlight much like it has for Dr. Anthony Fauci on a national level. She’s answered countless questions about the coronavirus at press conferences alongside McMaster. Bell said one of the challenges of her role is conveying the most accurate and recent information about a virus that continues to baffle scientists around the world — and doing so in a way that is easy to understand.
After every press conference, she often wonders “if I somehow missed the mark, or if people don’t understand, or if I could have said something differently that could have influenced someone to make a difference, to change behavior, to better understand that there are many things that we can do to turn this around.”
But what happens when people aren’t listening?
‘None of them compare to this.’
Masks aren’t always comfortable to wear, especially in the oppressive South Carolina summer heat. That’s something that Bell knows all too well. She understands that wearing a mask is a sacrifice, but it’s a small sacrifice compared to the devastating effects COVID-19 can cause.
In response to surging cases, multiple local governments in the state have passed mask laws in recent weeks, including Beaufort, Cayce, Charleston, Clemson, Columbia, Florence, Forest Acres, Hilton Head, Irmo, Horry County, Myrtle Beach, Rock Hill, Spartanburg and West Columbia. But McMaster has said he has no plans to issue a statewide mask law because the state would have “a very difficult (time) trying to enforce” such a law. He has emphasized the importance of personal responsibility in wearing masks.
Several states have rolled back reopening efforts after cases spiked. McMaster announced Friday that he would be requiring restaurants to stop serving alcohol after 11 p.m., in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus from younger demographics. But what if numbers continue to rise? Could another stay-at-home lockdown be on the horizon?
“Well, the things that are beyond my control, like a decision like that, I couldn’t comment on that because I can’t say if we’re going in that direction or not,” Bell said. “But I can say from a disease-control perspective, there’s abundant evidence showing that those have worked. When I get a report, from just probably last week, that there were zero deaths reported from New York City, when they were previously the epicenter of this outbreak in the country, and we’re seeing as many as 10 to 20 deaths a day in South Carolina.
“So understanding that New York City accomplished something that we could potentially accomplish, and the way they did that was through closures or through required practices that are known to be effective in public settings and the widespread requirement for the use of masks. And New York City, they’re not only no longer the epicenter, but if you look at a U.S. map, they’re in the green now, where South Carolina is very unfortunately red-hot.”
Bell is concerned for South Carolina, and she’s not shy about her concern. She expresses it to the public every chance she gets. As a human being, a mother, a wife and a daughter, she worries for her family. She has two children at home. Her husband, Dr. Myron Bell, is a cardiologist in Columbia and risks exposure to the virus every day he works. Bell’s mother is well into her 90’s and, due to her age, she has an elevated risk of dying from COVID-19.
Bell said she’s grateful for a strong family support system that has helped her through a grueling spring and early summer. Her seven-day-a-week role as chief epidemiologist is taxing, but she’s far more concerned about the people who are less fortunate than her, who are struggling through the pandemic.
With DHEC reporting that South Carolina hospitals are at 75.27% capacity, Bell said she fears that, without proper preventative action, South Carolina could begin to resemble other states and countries with overrun hospitals.
Her message hasn’t changed since March. South Carolinians must wear masks and social distance as much as possible; otherwise, the numbers will only get worse.
Bell will continue to trumpet that message and try every way she can to convey the gravity of the situation in South Carolina and the world. Her hope is that more and more people will listen.
“I never could have dreamed that we would be looking at what we are looking at right now in the United States or in South Carolina,” Bell said. “I’ve spent almost my entire career in the control of infectious diseases, and over the last couple of decades have seen outbreaks or clusters of concern at a local and national level, and none of them compare to this.
“Even where we were here in South Carolina in April and early May, I never would have dreamed that we would be where we are right now. And that really saddens me.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
