Dan Hunt|Bluffton Today

Beaufort Memorial chief medical officer Dr. Kurt Gambla said the hospital's intensive care unitis nearing its capacity, largely because of steadily increasing numbers of coronavirus patients.

"We have been at or near capacity in ICU, but not overwhelmed," Gambla said Friday. "Most days, the majority of those patients have been on ventilators and in the last week we are trending towards a majority of the ICU patients being COVID patients.

"We are not looking at any critical supply shortages currently. Morale is good despite the daily challenges. We are proud of our extraordinarily dedicated staff."

New Lowcountry coronavirus case totals have continued to trend upward. Over the weekend, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 267 new cases in Beaufort County and 22 new cases in Jasper County.

Gambla said tests conducted at the hospital were 20 percent positive for the second consecutive week.

"In July we already have 398 positive cases, which is roughly half the number of positive cases we saw in March," he said. "To date we have admitted more patients in June and July than we did in the first three months combined."

Gambla said anyone who needs emergency care can still receive it.

"We have been open throughout the pandemic for business as usual in the emergency department, seeing all types of emergencies and do not anticipate that changing," he said. "We also have comprehensive safety protocols in place to ensure anyone who needs care will feel safe and protected. This applies to all of our facilities."

Gambla reiterated the importance of developing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle during the pandemic: getting eight hours of sleep, hydrating, exercising, getting some sunlight and drinking in moderation. He added that smokers should be trying to quit.

"I think our communal goals should be (to) understand that this is a humanitarian, communal endeavor and will not be advanced with political/partisan sparring," he said. "We need to continue to tread water and stay afloat while we look at multiple lifelines. We cannot passively sit back and wait for one magic bullet.

"The solution will not likely be herd immunity but a new 'herd mentality' a combination of individual behavioral modifications, (social distancing, masking, hand hygiene) to support the great efforts going on in the scientific community regarding new therapies, vaccines, etc. We are not likely looking at an eradication in the short term. So we have to continue to build a mosaic of strategies for containment."

Gambla added that Lowcountry residents should recognize the importance of wearing protective masks around others in public.

"Very simply, it saves lives," he said. The data now is pretty compelling and growing every day that this is a very effective and extremely low-risk tool for source control. It protects you and protects those around you. Even if you have no symptoms, you can still be infected/contagious and spread it to innocent bystanders."

Officials at Hilton Head Regional Healthcare said about 650 people were tested for COVID-19 on July 22 at a drive-thru event at Bluffton High School.

Volunteers and workers at the event were from DHEC, Bluffton High School, Beaufort County Sheriffs Office, Bluffton Township Fire District, Beaufort County EMS, Bluffton Police Department, S.C. National Guard and Greater Bluffton Jasper County Volunteers in Medicine.

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Beaufort Memorial: 'ICU near capacity but not overwhelmed' - Bluffton Today