South Carolina frantically constructs tent hospitals for COVID-19 spike — as governor reopens businesses

On Thursday, The Daily Beast reported that South Carolina officials are hastily constructing tent hospitals to temporarily increase health care capacity for the COVID-19 surge in the state.

"In the parking lot of Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina, construction workers have been working around the clock to erect a series of inflatable white and blue medical tents as doctors inside scramble to contain the wave of coronavirus patients," reported Pilar Melendez. "The rural hospital, which serves a population twice the size of Rhode Island, is nearly full, forcing officials to ask the National Guard to erect the state’s first field hospital, comprising four tents to provide overflow capacity for at least a dozen virus patients at a time."

"Meanwhile, Gov. Henry McMaster this week announced a slew of businesses could reopen," continued the report. "Festivals, concerts, movie theaters, stadiums, gymnasiums, concert halls, performing arts centers, parks, and racetracks can reopen at 50 percent capacity."

So far, over 85,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in South Carolina, and 1,551 people have died.