Greenville County’s COVID-19 cases remain ‘off the charts’ as hospitals are strained

Greenville County’s positivity rate for COVID-19 is “off the charts high,” Prisma Health President and Chief Executive Officer Mark O’Halla said in a news conference Tuesday.

The rate of positive tests continues to be nearly 40%. The goal is less than 5%, he said.

“Please, please follow the guidelines,” he said.

For months, the refrain form health care workers has been: wear masks, social distance, stay home if possible and especially when sick.

O’Halla said across the 12 Prisma hospitals in the Upstate and Midlands regions, the average number of coronavirus patients in January has been 570. In June, at what was then height of the pandemic, the average was 320.

“This is putting a lot of constraints on the system,” he said.

That, coupled with about 350 staff members, including 180 doctors and nurses, out sick has made the situation worse.

O’Halla said Prisma Health has administered about 22,000 doses of the vaccine across its system and is administering about 2,000 shots a day.

Soon, the number of sites to get a vaccination will be increased, but still, the number of vaccinations the state receives weekly remains 64,000 doses per week.

“We need everyone to be patient,” said Dr. Saria Saccocio, co-lead of the health system’s vaccine task force and Prisma Health chief ambulatory medical officer.

One way the number of vaccination sites will be increased is through three mobile vans bought by Greenville County government for vaccinations. They all will be in use by sometime in February.

Greenville Mayor Knox White said city police officers, firefighters and code enforcement have made 300 compliance checks since December to remind business owners of the city’s face mask ordinance and state mandates limiting the size of gatherings and special events.

“This is extremely important with vaccines coming,” White said.

Saccocio said people in the 1a and 1b vaccination groups can go online at prismahealth.org/vaccine or call 833-2PRISMA to give their information so a vaccination appointment can be set up.

Greenville County has led the state for most of the past two months in the number of new coronavirus cases. The city of Greenville has an ordinance requiring masks, but the county has none.

Last week, the White House COVID-19 Task force reported the Greenville metro area, which includes Anderson County, had the worst infection rate in the nation of communities of similar size.

Doctors at the two hospital systems in Greenville County have pleaded for five months with residents to wear masks, social distance and stay home when possible. A significant number have ignored the requests.

In Laurens, Prisma Health requested assistance from state emergency management officials and the National Guard to help staff a 15-bed unit for patients recovering from the coronavirus.The Laurens County Hospital will open a COVID-19 convalescent unit next week.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 11:43 AM.