Record number of children in SC ICU with COVID as fear of Labor Day increases

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – With the start of the college football season in South Carolina occurring at the same time as a third-day vacation weekend, amid a wave of COVID-19 cases, health experts worry things could get worse.

“We will have a new rise with the opening of universities. We will have a new rise, as schools do not have masks and generate a large number of cases. And then, we’ll have Labor Day trips on top of that. So yes, there will be a new rise, ”said Dr. Helmut Albrecht, chair of the Department of Medicine at Prisma Health Medical Group.

Medical experts are already concerned about the rate of new cases in South Carolina.

Palmetto State leads the county in new daily COVID-19 infections when population size is taken into account, according to The New York Times.

The state has eight children with ventilators with COVID-19 and a total of 17 in critical care, according to the SC Children’s Hospital Collective.

And according to a model of the University of Washington, South Carolina, is expected to lose about 2,000 more people to the virus by the end of the year.

Dr. Albrecht said maximum case reports in other states are not what is likely to happen in South Carolina.

“It’s reaching too high a level and it’s not reaching the peak in the southeast and deep south, which only have a larger contingency of people who can become infected,” he said.

Albrecht explained that hospitals are beginning to see older people re-entering patients with COVID-19, often infected by younger people.

“We’ll go up like this is how it works,” he said.

For those who are vaccinated and want to enjoy the long weekend, he says it’s hard to completely eliminate the risk of getting the virus. However, he said that if someone vaccinated wants to meet inside with other people vaccinated without a mask, the spread is low and can be further reduced if people attending the event are usually cautious about potential exposure to COVID.

However, he said being on a stage full of people screaming and screaming, is risky even for vaccinated people. So he suggests masking himself if someone is determined to go to a party this weekend.

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