Sen. Graham: Every South Carolinian can do their part to help hospitals, slow spread of COVID-19

The Senator was in Columbia to meet with members of the SC Hospital Association

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says every South Carolinian can play a role in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic by simply wearing a mask.

The Republican Senator was in Columbia Tuesday to speak with hospital leaders about how the government can help them combat growing hospital capacity.

“All of our hospitals are doing the very best they can, but they are getting worn out,” Sen. Graham said.

As of Tuesday, DHEC says a record 1,550 COVID-19 patients are occupying hospital beds across the state, with more than 200 on ventilators.

Hospital beds are currently at 73% capacity statewide, though Richland County is reporting 78.5% of their beds are occupied, and Lexington County has 76.3% of their beds filled as of Tuesday afternoon.

Several hospitals are already over 80% capacity, and some have even put a halt on elective procedures to free up more beds.

“The hospitals, since Memorial Day, are struggling, and if we just do simple things, we can turn this around substantially,” Sen. Graham said.

The Senator also said it’s not best to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading epidemiologist, saying that would only undermine the efforts to keep people safe from this virus.

Some hospitals are struggling to restock on personal protective equipment, but Senator Graham says he will push for more funding for hospitals to fight this virus.

One area SC Hospital Association President Thornton Kirby said could be improved is the availability of testing.

“The testing is moving forward, but we are running into slowdowns because of the lack of supplies and reagents. Even though everyone’s working well together, we keep running out of reagents and test kits,” Kirby said.

Sen. Graham says more testing will be a major factor in reopening schools this fall. Even though he says enforcing a statewide face-mask ordinance would be extremely challenging, he says every person in South Carolina has a responsibility to keep each other safe.

“All of us can have a say, and if we can do just do simple things, use common sense, wear a mask, wash your hands, practice social distancing, it would be a God send to those who are under siege in our hospital systems,” Sen. Graham said.

As of Tuesday, DHEC is reporting 60,220 cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina, with at least 984 deaths.