BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — It appears more COVID-19 infections are being connected with recent travel to Myrtle Beach.
Health officials in Ohio’s Belmont County tell WTRF that multiple people have tested positive after visiting the Myrtle Beach area during spring break.
Rob Sproul, the Belmont County Health Commissioner, said that 91 people had traveled to Myrtle Beach. “Of those, 45 are Belmont County residents and 14 have already tested positive for COVID-19,” he told WTRF.
Sproul added that health officials are now tracing and testing parents, siblings, friends and teammates. “We’re trying to catch these people before they spread it further,” Sproul noted. “But we could be looking at larger numbers than we want.”
Belmont County is located along the state line near Wheeling, West Virginia.
Last week, health officials in Northern West Virginia connected a handful of COVID-19 infections with Myrtle Beach travel.
Also last week, a handful of restaurants in the North Myrtle Beach area decided to temporarily close due to coronavirus concerns -- some involving their staff. These closures come as South Carolina reached a new record high for daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, according to our sister station WLTX.