Mount Pleasant Magazine Documenting Covid-19

15 www.CoronavirusMag.com | www.ReadMPM.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com By the Numbers: COVID-19 COMPILED BY GINGER SOT TILE BASED ON INFORMATION AVAILABLE AS OF APRIL 28, 2020 South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism expected tourism to account for $24.5 billion of the S.C. economy. That has been readjusted to $12.2 billion for 2020. S.C. has approximately 1,200 hotels that are at less than 15% occupied — an approximate $523 million loss in tourism revenues for March and April. By mid-April, 28,000 restaurant workers (approximately 65% of total) in the Charleston area were unemployed and 7,700 hotel workers (75% is best estimate) were laid off. Attractions have had to release 80% of their staffing (about 600 people). The school staffs, including food service, office workers, teacher assistants, custodians, bus drivers, substitute teachers and maintenance workers have contracts that are school session only. Private schools, which are for-profit businesses, have had higher numbers of employees seeking unemployment benefits. The first week of school closures saw more than 2,200 unemployment applications from school employees. Almost 600 S.C. school buses have been converted to mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, particularly in rural areas, to enable teachers, students and parents to continue the learning process. Isle of Palms Police recorded 26 verbal warnings for violating beach access restrictions. Charleston County School District has an estimated 350 Durham Bus Service employees working on a normal school day. Since mid- March, that number is down to approximately 120. About 2,000 of the state’s school buses are being used for food service distribution locations. Many schools are still providing prepared meals for the students who qualified for free and reduced lunches and have expanded that program to cover unemployed families. SCDNR has written only nine citations while dispersing 5,245 people. They’ve issued 3,000 verbal warnings and 38 written warnings. $12.2 Billion $523 Million 28,000 2,200 600 26 2,000 350 5,245