South Carolina During COVID-19

[escanoe]

Anyone at any of the South Carolina resorts with them now open?

I had reservations to stay at Ocean 22 from 6/27 to 7/5. It seems to me social distancing will be quite challenging in relation to the Ocean 22 elevators. I have decided to not make the Myrtle Beach trip, but now have an RCI reservation at Hilton Head Island (HHI) for Spinnaker Waterside at that time. I may grab Ocean Oaks through HGVC if last minute availability opens up. If I hear horror stories, RCI Points will refund both my points and the fees for the reservation I have now.

I have never been to HHI before, but I anticipate social distancing to be easier at the more sprawled out resorts there versus the high rises at Myrtle Beach. We go to Myrtle in part for the kiddos and things like water parks and go-karts ... don't see that happening this summer.

I called HGVC today and cancelled my reservation at Ocean 22. They refunded all the points, but I lost my reservation fee. I could have shifted the reservation out myself and played that game, but I already have plenty of speculative reservations I can slide around if I book something else this year. I was hoping for a booking fee refund, but they didn't offer and I wasn't going to grovel. He did shift the portion of the points that were saved from 2019 to the 2020-21 pool.

If anyone makes it to any of the HGVC South Carolina resorts post reopening, I would love to hear a report. I decided this was not the year for my family to be fiddling with the Ocean 22 elevators. I am not in the group that ALWAYS complains about the elevators there (usually I view them as a minor inconvenience during a really nice beach vacation), but it seems this year they are likely to be particularly problematic. I will bet they get a record number of requests this year for second and third floor rooms.

An RCI Points property I own in Virginia says on their reopening page they will be limiting it to one family at a time in elevators. I can't imagine that at Ocean 22.

 

[natarajanv]

Anyone at any of the South Carolina resorts with them now open?

I had reservations to stay at Ocean 22 from 6/27 to 7/5. It seems to me social distancing will be quite challenging in relation to the Ocean 22 elevators. I have decided to not make the Myrtle Beach trip, but now have an RCI reservation at Hilton Head Island (HHI) for Spinnaker Waterside at that time. I may grab Ocean Oaks through HGVC if last minute availability opens up. If I hear a bunch of horror stories, RCI Points will refund both my points and the fees for the reservation I have now.

I have never been to HHI before, but I anticipate social distancing to be easier at the more sprawled out resorts there versus the high rises at Myrtle Beach. We go to Myrtle in part for the kiddos and things like water parks and go-karts ... don't see that happening this summer.

I called HGVC today and cancelled my reservation at Ocean 22. They refunded all the points, but I lost my reservation fee. I could have shifted the reservation out myself and played that game, but I already have plenty of speculative reservations I can slide around if I book something else this year. I was hoping for a booking fee refund, but they didn't offer and I wasn't going to grovel.

You will get the reservation fees refunded. They are refunding it until June 15th.

EDIT: I have to take back my comments, the reservation has to be before June 15 to get the fees back

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[natarajanv]

From hgvc ....

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[JTurner538]

We gifted a friend 5 nights at Ocean 22 before covid hit. She opted to go despite the risk and just came home yesterday. She said some people were really conceintious about not packing the elevators and some people were jerks. Other than a sign that’s posted, there’s nothing really enforcing the social distancing policy on the elevators other than goodwill.

 

[elaine]

Waterside will be easy to social distance. I suggest walking down the back road to the small gate (somewhat hidden) to access the beach vs. going to Coligny. There are no facilities, but also few people. It's an easy shaded walk, just keep going down the road behind the check in building until you hit the beach. Definitely rent bikes. HHI has lots of bike rental places that deliver. There is a pool over by building 8 if the main pool gets crowded. There are usually only a few people there.

 

[JIMinNC]

We own a condo on HHI in Palmetto Dunes and have been coming down to the island for a few days almost every week since mid-April. It was easy to social distance on the beaches a few weeks ago, but since Memorial Day it's been a bigger challenge. At low tide, it's easy to find your space, but during high tide everyone clogs up the sand and we had a couple large parties plop down right beside us, forcing us to relocate to keep a reasonable distance. Areas in HHI frequented by locals tend to be easier to distance than places that are mainly tourists. It seems those vacationing here are behaving in a basically "business as usual manner." I have no idea if things are different at Ocean Oak, but I suspect they are not.

 

[escanoe]

Was just beginning to feel comfortable about my July 4th plans in SC. This article from VOX today on "states that experts worry about" now has me concerned ... first for everyone's health and somewhere down the list for our summer vacation. Still waiting to decide as I can postpone up until near the time of travel fairly easily. Stay safe, @GT75, and I look forward to reading your after trip assessment.

SC Excerpt:

South Carolina
Relaxed/ended stay-at-home order: May 4

Hospitalizations on June 9: 541 (up from 482 on June 7)

Test positivity rate: 9.6 percent (increased from 3.9 percent two weeks ago)

South Carolina saw a dramatic one-day spike in Covid-19 hospitalizations, which has put it on the national radar. Its bed capacity is also beginning to dwindle, down to about 30 percent statewide, with some areas seeing even less availability, according to the Washington Post.

The state is an anomaly on testing: Its daily average in tests has actually trailed off in the last two weeks, from 5,400 to 4,200. But its positive test rate has more than doubled over the same period, suggesting increased spread since South Carolina was on the leading edge of allowing some businesses to reopen starting on April 20.

Testing, again, does not seem sufficient to explain the trends, and health officials are clearly worried about people not taking proper precautions. No state mandate for mask-wearing is in effect, though people are being urged to wear one.

“Other factors, including gatherings at which people fail to practice safety measures, could be in play as well,” state officials said this week, according to WCSC. “There is still a significant risk of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus in a public setting in any community.”

 

[dayooper]

We canceled our June MB trip last month. Our group had several at risk individuals and none of us were comfortable.

 

[GT75]

Was just beginning to feel comfortable about my July 4th plans in SC. This article from VOX today on "states that experts worry about" now has me concerned ... first for everyone's health and somewhere down the list for our summer vacation. Still waiting to decide as I can postpone up until near the time of travel fairly easily. Stay safe, @GT75, and I look forward to reading your after trip assessment.

I just read the same article after our afternoon bike ride. I was also a little concerned especially since I am currently visiting this state. I definitely respects anyone who either decides to travel or decides not to travel during these times. I certainly don’t know which is best for each individual family.

Up until now, we have been fairly good during this CV-19 situation, staying at home, only going to the store and distancing ourselves from others. I know that this trip is much riskier than what we have been doing the past several months.

Thanks @escanoe for the kind thoughts. I know that we all want everyone to remain safe during these difficult times.

 

[escanoe]

We will probably go unless it gets worse. I would have made the same decision at this point you did.
I do think HHI is probably not that hard a place to social distance. My 9 and 13 year olds really want to go.

I am just hoping these warning signs turn out not to be foreboding.

I just read the same article after our afternoon bike ride. I was also a little concerned especially since I am currently visiting this state. I definitely respects anyone who either decides to travel or decides not to travel during these times. I certainly don’t know which is best for each individual family.

Up until now, we have been fairly good during this CV-19 situation, staying at home, only going to the store and distancing ourselves from others. I know that this trip is much riskier than what we have been doing the past several months.

Thanks @escanoe for the kind thoughts. I know that we all want everyone to remain safe during these difficult times.

 

[elaine]

Up until now, we have been fairly good during this CV-19 situation, staying at home, only going to the store and distancing ourselves from others. I know that this trip is much riskier than what we have been doing the past several months.

You can avoid indoors around others whenever possible and choose outdoors to substantially decrease your risk. Bike riding, walking/playing/sitting on the beach are fun, relatively low risk things to do. If people aren't wearing masks, consider grocery delivery. Limit time indoors when in contact with others and always wear a mask inside.

 

[krj9999]

The one family per elevator in Myrtle was only for the initial soft open, and that was removed on May 11th. There was some language about social distancing, masks recommended, and occupancy limits that was added. We're scheduled for check-in at Marriott OceanWatch on June 27 - but haven't received any pre-arrival info yet. Agree many may request low floors to avoid using elevators frequently. I expect we'll go regardless, and likely minimize risk to extent possible (Horry County has just over 800 confirmed cases, my county here in MD is over 4,000). SC has a "heat map" for recent cases at their website (Myrtle and HHI are far from the worst areas in the state, but there are cases).

(ARCHIVED) - COVID-19 Testing Data | SCDHEC

scdhec.gov

 

[JIMinNC]

South Carolina

Hospitalizations on June 9: 541 (up from 482 on June 7)

South Carolina saw a dramatic one-day spike in Covid-19 hospitalizations, which has put it on the national radar. Its bed capacity is also beginning to dwindle, down to about 30 percent statewide, with some areas seeing even less availability, according to the Washington Post.

Cases are indeed rising in many places as economic activity expands. That was expected. The key is to avoid a major surge and keep the case growth manageable. Remember states like SC are rising off of very low levels compared to places like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, etc. For example, here are cases per 100K residents for a few places according to NY Times:

NY - 1979
NJ - 1862
MA - 1511
RI - 1487
DC - 1351
CT - 1244
IL - 1033

NC - 365
FL - 314
SC - 306

In the above, I showed the top seven states for infection rates plus, for comparison, the three southeastern states with the best beach/resort destinations.

The WaPo article also makes it sound like the only 30% bed availability in SC is due to COVID growth, but note TOTAL CV19 hospitalizations in SC are only 541 people. I think SC has something like 4500 to 5000 total hospital beds, maybe more. From what I've read elsewhere, the main reason bed space is dwindling across many states is that most hospitals are restarting elective procedures that have been deferred for several months. My wife is a healthcare management consultant and she says hospitals had been forced to lay off staff because many were running at less than 50% occupancy in many places all over the US. They are now bringing back staff and restarting elective surgeries, consuming some bed space.

I don't think the situation in SC is nearly as dire as the VOX article makes it sound. We've been to Hilton Head frequently over the last few weeks and things have been great there.

 

[escanoe]

Thanks @krj9999 for the Ocean 22 intel, the data, and thoughtful discussion. Like you, I will likely be making it to HHI on 6/27 — I hope.

I hear you on the number of cases where we are versus there. 10,000 have been diagnosed here in Fairfax County, VA. I still perceive the risk there as higher. My family has been pretty sheltered in our home here and really playing it safe.

This is going to go on till we have herd immunity either from a vaccine or the natural course of things. It is getting old, but I really hope to limit my family from being the ones doing the spreading ... perhaps that is irrational ... and we certainly have to balance it against other things.

I expect we'll go regardless, and likely minimize risk to extent possible (Horry County has just over 800 confirmed cases, my county here in MD is over 4,000). SC has a "heat map" for recent cases at their website (Myrtle and HHI are far from the worst areas in the state, but there are cases).

 

[hurnik]

Cases are indeed rising in many places as economic activity expands. That was expected. The key is to avoid a major surge and keep the case growth manageable. Remember states like SC are rising off of very low levels compared to places like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, etc. For example, here are cases per 100K residents for a few places according to NY Times:

NY - 1979
NJ - 1862
MA - 1511
RI - 1487
DC - 1351
CT - 1244
IL - 1033

NC - 365
FL - 314
SC - 306

In the above, I showed the top seven states for infection rates plus, for comparison, the three southeastern states with the best beach/resort destinations.

The WaPo article also makes it sound like the only 30% bed availability in SC is due to COVID growth, but note TOTAL CV19 hospitalizations in SC are only 541 people. I think SC has something like 4500 to 5000 total hospital beds, maybe more. From what I've read elsewhere, the main reason bed space is dwindling across many states is that most hospitals are restarting elective procedures that have been deferred for several months. My wife is a healthcare management consultant and she says hospitals had been forced to lay off staff because many were running at less than 50% occupancy in many places all over the US. They are now bringing back staff and restarting elective surgeries, consuming some bed space.

I don't think the situation in SC is nearly as dire as the VOX article makes it sound. We've been to Hilton Head frequently over the last few weeks and things have been great there.

Yes, this is the problem with the news and the headlines. Most folks don't read the article completely (or the article lacks all the facts).

Increase in positive cases *should* increase due to increased testing (but if testing rates are falling or staying the same, then a different story).
Increased positive cases doe not necessarily mean increased hospitalization rates either.
And hospitalization rates aren't always listed as COVID-only. A lot of areas so far, increased hospitalization rates are "total" rates due to COVID and non-COVID related items.

Unfortunately I think the news cycle tends to report things as "attention grabbers" and not necessarily the real story, IMO.

But it is worthwhile to read/dig into everything.

 

[escanoe]

I don't disagree with this assessment of the press coverage in general. The internet teases what eyeballs respond to, but good coverage is out there if you look. In my view the VOX story I referenced above reflects a balanced view of reality (data).

Yes, this is the problem with the news and the headlines. Most folks don't read the article completely (or the article lacks all the facts).

Increase in positive cases *should* increase due to increased testing (but if testing rates are falling or staying the same, then a different story).
Increased positive cases doe not necessarily mean increased hospitalization rates either.
And hospitalization rates aren't always listed as COVID-only. A lot of areas so far, increased hospitalization rates are "total" rates due to COVID and non-COVID related items.

Unfortunately I think the news cycle tends to report things as "attention grabbers" and not necessarily the real story, IMO.

But it is worthwhile to read/dig into everything.

 

[JIMinNC]

I don't disagree with this assessment of the press coverage in general. The internet teases what eyeballs respond to, but good coverage is out there if you look. In my view the VOX story I referenced above reflects a balanced view of reality (data).

The main problem I have with the Vox piece is it fails to note that ALL of the states it highlights as "emerging hot spots" are states that are starting from a dramatically lower level rate of infection than the places where it got out of control in March. These states all effectively kept the virus from getting out of control early on and now are in a place where they can accept increased rates of infection and hospitalization in order to try to revive their economy. It only goes to reason that as movement and activity increase, so will cases. I know our leadership here in NC told us to expect that would happen, but they had a responsibility to balance the public health risks with the economic risk. The key is that it doesn't blow up like it did in NY, NJ, CT, MA, MI, DC, etc.

In our current environment, I also am attuned to be on the lookout for articles that might have an "agenda". Many in the media and elsewhere have been predicting disaster in many southern and mountain west states that may not have closed down as rapidly as some other places and also have tended to prioritize trying to revive their economies sooner. I remember the doomsday predictions back in March that Florida was going to be "worse than New York City." So, far it hasn't happened, and many of the states that were panned have done a much better job of balancing the public health issues with the economic issues than some of the states with much higher infection rates that have been roundly praised in the press for their response. Given that the Vox article failed to note that cases also seem to be rising significantly again in California, Oregon, and Washington as they also begin to re-open, that omission makes me suspicious that the article might have an "I told you so" agenda directed at the states that they felt opened "too early." It's unfortunate that we've come to the point that news articles have to be looked at with a skeptical eye for possible hidden agendas, but sadly that's where we are today.

 

[krj9999]

I did get my pre-arrival email for OceanWatch today. Nothing terribly informative (just advised the activity center and the on-site pool grille aren't open currently). The MVC website has more details on property status (which they didn't even refer me to).

>>>>>>

There is no doubt VOX skews left (as the graphic below indicates) but as long as you know where on the spectrum any "news" organization stands it's generally not that hard to read objectively.

AllSides Media Bias Chart

The AllSides Media Bias Chart is an easy way for you to identify political bias in the news so you can be better equipped to navigate our increasingly polarized media landscape.

www.allsides.com

I wouldn't want to claim that NC or FL did a better or worse job than other states (government or citizens). Too many factors influencing. Testing was much less available in March, and more is known about COVID now than it was back then. The issue is directionality at this point and what is the response. Pretty simple really - if people don't social distance and don't wear masks (particularly indoors), almost certain case counts will explode higher in time. If we can't make in-roads during the summer while the weather is warm, it's only going to be that much more challenging this coming winter (absent a vaccine or vastly better treatment regimen).

The main problem I have with the Vox piece is it fails to note that ALL of the states it highlights as "emerging hot spots" are states that are starting from a dramatically lower level rate of infection than the places where it got out of control in March. These states all effectively kept the virus from getting out of control early on and now are in a place where they can accept increased rates of infection and hospitalization in order to try to revive their economy. It only goes to reason that as movement and activity increase, so will cases. I know our leadership here in NC told us to expect that would happen, but they had a responsibility to balance the public health risks with the economic risk. The key is that it doesn't blow up like it did in NY, NJ, CT, MA, MI, DC, etc.

In our current environment, I also am attuned to be on the lookout for articles that might have an "agenda". Many in the media and elsewhere have been predicting disaster in many southern and mountain west states that may not have closed down as rapidly as some other places and also have tended to prioritize trying to revive their economies sooner. I remember the doomsday predictions back in March that Florida was going to be "worse than New York City." So, far it hasn't happened, and many of the states that were panned have done a much better job of balancing the public health issues with the economic issues than some of the states with much higher infection rates that have been roundly praised in the press for their response. Given that the Vox article failed to note that cases also seem to be rising significantly again in California, Oregon, and Washington as they also begin to re-open, that omission makes me suspicious that the article might have an "I told you so" agenda directed at the states that they felt opened "too early." It's unfortunate that we've come to the point that news articles have to be looked at with a skeptical eye for possible hidden agendas, but sadly that's where we are today.

 

[bogey21]

I used to own at Peppertree by the Sea Week in North Myrtle Beach. I could walk right out of my unit on to a large sparsely populated beach. The downside is that my unit was small and clearly not HGVC or Marriott quality but if elbow room on the beach is a big enough priority it works....

George

 

[JIMinNC]

I wouldn't want to claim that NC or FL did a better or worse job than other states (government or citizens). Too many factors influencing. Testing was much less available in March, and more is known about COVID now than it was back then. The issue is directionality at this point and what is the response. Pretty simple really - if people don't social distance and don't wear masks (particularly indoors), almost certain case counts will explode higher in time. If we can't make in-roads during the summer while the weather is warm, it's only going to be that much more challenging this coming winter (absent a vaccine or vastly better treatment regimen).

Valid point on whether they did a better or worse job versus other states. That's an subjective assessment rather than a fact. Maybe a more accurate statement would be that their hospitalization rates and death rates have been considerably less than some other places. Those stats are less dependent upon testing rate differences.

I totally agree that this is now down to personal responsibility and behavior - take the appropriate precautions in how you interact and go about life. We can't realistically keep a shutdown in place until there is a vaccine or treatment, so we have to be responsible in our actions. That's why I wish the press would focus on that message - imploring and educating people to be responsible and explaining how we can return to the things we need to do while limiting spread as much as we can - rather than the constant drumbeat of negativity about rising numbers and the constant attempts to place blame.

Government can issue mandates, but its the enforcement that is problematic. Ultimately, individuals have to make the right decisions. Gov McMaster in SC said as much yesterday. I don't agree with him on a lot of things, but I do agree with him on this:

“At this point, the answer is individual responsibility, not mandates from the government. We do not have enough police officers to go around the state and enforce mandates."

 

[krj9999]

So understand SC has labeled Horry County a hot spot. Need more companies to be like Costco and require masks.

https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/coronavirus/article243453451.html

 

[PigsDad]

So understand SC has labeled Horry County a hot spot. Need more companies to be like Costco and require masks.

Or just require it at the state level like so many other states do.

Kurt

 

[Laurie]

Or just require it at the state level like so many other states do.

Or counties can, where states don't. Our county in NC is mandating starting today.

 

[escanoe]

I am for government requiring it AND stores like Costco enforcing it. We have a state executive order in place in Virginia, and if you get out of what have been urban hot spots, compliance is low. Went into a Walmart in rural VA and few people were wearing them and at least 1/3rd of employees didn't have them covering the nose.

Its like a speed limit, if it is really going to be followed, there has to be some enforcement. The Costco by us does a good job. When you see the employees half arsed doing it, many customers will not feel a need to take it serious.

Or just require it at the state level like so many other states do.

Kurt

 

[ljmiii]

We have a state executive order in place in Virginia, and if you get out of what have been urban hot spots, compliance is low. Went into a Walmart in rural VA and few people were wearing them and at least 1/3rd of employees didn't have them covering the nose.

My dad lives in rural VA and this is driving him *nuts*. He initially didn't think COVID-19 was 'real' but has since changed his tune. The county where he lives is doing well but the neighboring county with the Walmart keeps seeing cases and positives per test go up. So he gets to wear his mask and dodge fellow shoppers.