<b>By Mike McCombs</b>

The Child Development Center – day care-- on Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort was closed indefinitely at the end of business on Wednesday afternoon after multiple caregivers and children tested positive for the coronavirus.

Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) South Carolina, which runs the center, posted a release on Wednesday to its Facebook page that announced the closing but made no specific reference to coronavirus or COVID-19.

However, on Wednesday, the center was calling parents individually to tell them of the closure and why. The calls, as well as the reason for them, were confirmed Wednesday afternoon by Lt. Kevin Buss, Public Information Officer for MCAS Beaufort.

The MCCS release reads as follows:

“MCAS CDC CLOSURE

EFFECTIVE COD 17 JUNE

The Child Development Center will close until further notice to allow for completion of a contact investigation and subsequent recommended actions from Preventive Medicine. The closure will also allow for deep cleaning/sanitizing all classrooms, common areas, and playgrounds in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Preventive Medicine guidance.

Re-opening of the facility will be based upon the results of the Preventive Medicine contact investigation. Parents will receive an account credit for the closure period.

Please monitor the MCCS South Carolina Facebook page for the facility re-opening date.”

The news from MCAS Beaufort came on a day when there was a virus-related death reported in Beaufort County, the 15th death in the county, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The victim, who died Saturday, according to the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office, was an elderly woman who lived in a Beaufort County nursing home.

In all, Wednesday, DHEC announced 577 new confirmed cases and 10 deaths. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 20,551 and confirmed deaths to 617.

There were 29 new confirmed cases in Beaufort County on Wednesday, bringing the total to 673.

As of June 15, according to DHEC, the state’s recovery rate is 79 percent.