Concerned about rising COVID cases, SC’s largest electric co-op closes its lobbies
Hours after the governor declared South Carolina would not shut down again for COVID, the state’s largest not-for-profit electric cooperative took another route.
On Monday morning, Berkeley County Electric Cooperative announced it would close its four lobbies in the Lowcountry due to the recent spike in positive coronavirus cases.
“We are closing our lobbies until further notice due to a surge in COVID-19 cases,” the utility posted on Twitter. “We apologize for the inconvenience but we are taking this step to ensure the safety of both our members and our employees.”
Its drive-thrus and call centers, however, will remain open for customers.
According to its website, Berkeley County Electric Cooperative serves more than 100,000 members, making it the largest of South Carolina’s 20 electric cooperatives.
Based in Moncks Corner, a town about 25 miles north of downtown Charleston, the co-op serves parts of Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties.
Also known as the tri-county region, Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties have seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
Last week, a sobering analysis from experts at the Medical University of South Carolina found that nearly all of the new COVID-19 cases they are seeing are being caused by the super-contagious delta variant.
Michael Sweat, a Ph.D researcher with MUSC and the lead of its Epidemiology Intelligence Project, last week characterized the impact of the coronavirus in the Charleston area in dire terms.
“It’s worse than I thought. We’re in a code red situation,” Sweat said in a statement Wednesday. “I worry that people aren’t realizing this is happening.”
During a Monday morning press conference at the State House, Gov. Henry McMaster urged South Carolinians to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The governor and his wife got shots as soon as they could after they both contracted COVID-19 in December. However, McMaster opposes any requirement that would make people get the COVID-19 shots.
“Football games are starting again. Classes are starting again. Now is a great time. If you are ready to get that vaccination, go ahead and get it,” McMaster said, pleading with the public.
Later, he doubled down against the idea of shuttering the state again, after many businesses were temporarily closed last year.
“We’re not going to shut our state down as other states did,” McMaster said. “Mandating masks is not the answer. Personal responsibility is the answer.”
The latest publicly available data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reports 45% of South Carolina residents over age 12 have been fully vaccinated.
The state health department on Monday also reported 1,852 new COVID-19 cases and eight coronavirus-related deaths.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 2:52 PM.
