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Tired of COVID-19 dampening life in the 55-and-older community where he lives, Roger Dolida took to his golf cart to find out for himself whether the neighborhood had reached herd immunity. Over three weeks, he surveyed roughly 400 of his neighbors, asking them simply whether they were fully vaccinated against the virus.

“I’d catch them washing their car, taking their dog for a walk,” he said.

Dolida, who got his first dose in February, said he was careful not to pry about people’s reasons, and said everyone in the tight-knit community offered up their status willingly. He announced the results of his survey in a neighborhood Facebook group: 91 percent of residents are vaccinated. Cresswind loosened its restrictions not long after.

So, on an 89-degree day at the community in Summerville, people were floating in the community pool and sitting around card tables, mask-less, to enjoy a game of Hand and Foot.

The residents of Cresswind aren’t the only South Carolinians looking forward to a more relaxed summer than last.

People have good reason to be optimistic. Reports of deaths from COVID-19 have fallen to the lowest points since last spring. About 2,400 cases of the disease were confirmed in the state the week of May 15, compared to a devastatingly high 40,300 one January week. And, in perhaps its biggest shift yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said May 13 that fully vaccinated people can drop their masks almost entirely.

Yet the threat of COVID-19 lingers. Across South Carolina, just 37 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, leaving more than half of the state just as vulnerable as ever to infection.

Masking rules around the state are still varied. And though Gov. Henry McMaster ordered an end to mask mandates May 11, Richland County Council decided to keep its rules in place through at least the first week of June.

McMaster’s order extended to schools, where parents can choose to opt their children out of wearing masks. Dr. Allison Eckard, director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina, said she and her colleagues are “alarmed” by the number of families who have opted out of the requirements in the last weeks of school.

“As summer begins, many of our children will be engaged in summer camps, group events and other high-risk activities,” Eckard said during a May 24 press conference. “We therefore urge parents and event organizers to continue to take appropriate steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

Eckard remains concerned about the threat of MIS-C, an inflammatory disease that can stem from COVID-19 in children. The MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital has seen a slight uptick in the number of cases of the syndrome recently. Children under the age of 12 are the only group not currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Bainie Brunson, a James Island resident and mother of three girls ages 9, 6 and 2, had to cut her own working hours in half when her daughters needed to switch to virtual learning last year.

Brunson said she hated to send them back to in-person schooling before vaccines were widely available, and she was frustrated that some parents opted their children out of masks following the governor’s order. One of Brunson’s daughters has asthma, and the family has been religiously avoiding unnecessary risks. That will continue this summer, even as many adults change their behavior.

“I’m gonna keep them as close as I possibly can,” she said.

Brunson said the family has a pool, and she is considering activities her children can safely do at a distance, like tennis and horseback riding.

Dr. Brannon Traxler, director of public health for DHEC, said she couldn’t offer blanket advice to families with young children. Each family should judge the risks of traveling or attending large gatherings individually, she said, keeping in mind that masks are proven to protect children as young as 2 years old.

Travel isn’t a possibility at all for some South Carolina families. Besides her husband and two adult daughters, Michelle Matters’ family lives in Canada. Matters’ husband took a job at Michelin in 1998. The family now lives in Greenville, though they have made a trip back to their vacation home on Prince Edward Island every year until 2020, when restrictions on international travel began.

Matters said she and her family’s motivation for getting vaccinated was the hope it would be a ticket to safely travel back to Canada. But the border between Canada and the United States remains closed to non-essential travel, even to dual citizens like Matters and her husband.

“Our hearts would love to be seeing family because it’s been two years,” Matters said.

Instead, the family is considering a shorter road trip to North Carolina or Tennessee.

Prone to adventure and eager to break out of the COVID-19 slog, Kristin Miller Burrell and her family went on a wilderness competition show called “Survivalists,” which filmed in November in Moab, Utah, and airs in early July.

The whole family, who live in Greenville, was also eager to get vaccines, so much so that they drove to Atlanta in February to try to take part in a Moderna trial for adolescents. But on the day they got to Atlanta, the trial froze. They waited five hours before turning back.

Looking to this summer, Burrell said she and her husband had hoped they could travel internationally.

“We always want to expose our kids to the rest of the world,” Burrell said. “This summer, that’s not going to happen, because we couldn’t really plan anything due to the pandemic.”

They opted instead to rent a beach house, and are allowing each of their teenage daughters to invite friends. She remains worried about the variants of the virus.

Meanwhile, some summer programs have had to re-configure to accommodate the partial lifting of restrictions.

Camps at the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry always sell out, and this year was no different. The waitlist is almost as long as there are spaces at its camps, said Nichole Myles, executive director of the museum.

“Families know that we are fully invested in their children,” Myles said.

But it has been a difficult year for the museum. The downtown attraction lost 57 percent of its operating budget and 40 percent of its staff. Because of space constraints, the museum is cutting back its hours and only offering camps during the week, while general admission is open on the weekends. Everyone will still have to wear masks, keeping to CDC guidance which recommends that schools and other places where kids gather indoors continue to implement universal masking, Myles said.

Myles said not all parents have taken to the continued masking requirement happily; the museum gets its fair share of angry emails, she said. But she added the museum has remained committed to giving kids early childhood learning experiences. Last summer, 450 children attended the summer camps, without a single incident, a track record Myles is proud of.

“We don’t have to give up everything,” she said. “Camp is still an amazing experience for young children.”

For some families, there is no need to limit themselves at all. Simpsonville residents Karen Callis, her husband and 16-year-old son are renting an RV in early June and taking U.S. Route 66, planning to hit national parks, major cities and see the West. Callis’ husband has been considering the trip ever since their son’s childhood obsession with the movie “Cars.” They had to postpone the plans last year due to COVID-19.

“We’re trying to be spontaneous as much as we can,” Callis said.

Adam Schrimmer has worked on many projects , but his latest will help transform part of The Children's Museum of the Upstate in Greenville.

Schrimmer recently completed the mural "Rooftop Dreams," which incorporates skyline views from a variety of locations in Greenville city limits. He said the design gives children an idea or a feeling that they're sitting on clouds, up on the roof, somewhere within Greenville's downtown.

"I'm thrilled to design and execute this artwork to reimagine the main floor of the museum," Schrimmer said. "It's such an honor to do this project, and I know children will enjoy it for decades."

The 1,050 square foot mural is part of an area renovation of the main floor currently used for educational and interactive programming, according to the museum.

This space will become The Dream Theatre, where the museum will host weekly storytime sessions and other activities. Children will be invited to sit on the rooftops of Greenville and engage in activities that will allow them to play and create.

Jessie Cappello, marketing and communications manager for the museum, said this was a team effort to work with Schrimmer and bring this mural to life.

"We were connected with Adam, and he's done a lot of great work in the community," Cappello said. "This really just became a collaborative conversation about how to use this space that we're sitting in right now."

Javy Pagan, the programs manager for TCMU, said the museum is grateful for Schrimmer's creativity and generosity of time working on this project. .

"Completing The Dream Theater, with the incredible 'Rooftop Dreams' mural by Adam, truly was a dream come true for the museum," Pagan said. "With a mission that hopes to ignite a community of compassionate problem solvers through intentional and inclusive play–all while creating a world where no barrier is bigger than a dream.

We hope this space becomes a place for engaged play and imaginative learning and a place where kids can dream about their lives beyond the four walls of this museum."

Schrimmer also participated in TCMU's Art Adventures summer camp at the museum this week and will wrap up the camp on Saturday, June 19, when he works with campers on an outdoor mural at the museum.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA)– June is National Men’s Health Month!

Doctors say now is a great time to encourage the men in your life to take care of their bodies.

As part of our “Ask the Expert” series, with Bon Secours St. Francis Health, 7NEWS spoke with a Urologist about enlarged prostate and how to manage symptoms.

Dr. Philip Fontenot, Urologist, Bon Secours St. Francis said, “Enlarged prostate I would say affects about 80% or more of men.”

Enlarged prostate is a condition in which the flow of urine is blocked due to enlargement of the prostate gland.

It’s pretty common as men get older, according Dr. Fontenot. “It’s a very, very common issue that we see. If you live long enough, at some point, you will be affected by an enlarged prostate.”

Men with prostate gland enlargement might find it hard to go despite the urge. Others may need to go to the restroom more often, even waking up in the middle of the night. For some, it may take longer to empty out their bladder.

These uncomfortable symptoms are a cue to see your doctor for a physical examination.

“In other cases, where we need more information, we can do ultrasound imaging, CT, or MRI to help us,” Dr. Fontenot said.

About one-third of men experience moderate to severe symptoms by age 60, and about half do so by age 80. There are several effective treatments.

According to Dr. Fontenot, “The one that has been around the longest is known as the TURP where you scrape or remove some of that prostate tissue to relieve the blockage and improve the flow of urine.”

Less invasive treatments, like a prostate lift procedure, may be an option for some patients.

“It’s an outpatient procedure. It takes about 30 minutes to do. People like it because it does not involve actually cutting or scraping anything out. It’s simply just pinning back the tissue there.” Dr. Fontenot said.

Having a family history of prostate problems or a health condition like diabetes, heart disease, or obesity might increase your risk of enlarged prostate.

Exercise can lower your risk.

To submit a health topic for our Ask the Expert series, click here.

Adam Schrimmer has worked on many projects , but his latest will help transform part of The Children's Museum of the Upstate in Greenville.

Schrimmer recently completed the mural "Rooftop Dreams," which incorporates skyline views from a variety of locations in Greenville city limits. He said the design gives children an idea or a feeling that they're sitting on clouds, up on the roof, somewhere within Greenville's downtown.

"I'm thrilled to design and execute this artwork to reimagine the main floor of the museum," Schrimmer said. "It's such an honor to do this project, and I know children will enjoy it for decades."

The 1,050 square foot mural is part of an area renovation of the main floor currently used for educational and interactive programming, according to the museum.

This space will become The Dream Theatre, where the museum will host weekly storytime sessions and other activities. Children will be invited to sit on the rooftops of Greenville and engage in activities that will allow them to play and create.

Jessie Cappello, marketing and communications manager for the museum, said this was a team effort to work with Schrimmer and bring this mural to life.

"We were connected with Adam, and he's done a lot of great work in the community," Cappello said. "This really just became a collaborative conversation about how to use this space that we're sitting in right now."

Javy Pagan, the programs manager for TCMU, said the museum is grateful for Schrimmer's creativity and generosity of time working on this project. .

"Completing The Dream Theater, with the incredible 'Rooftop Dreams' mural by Adam, truly was a dream come true for the museum," Pagan said. "With a mission that hopes to ignite a community of compassionate problem solvers through intentional and inclusive play–all while creating a world where no barrier is bigger than a dream.

We hope this space becomes a place for engaged play and imaginative learning and a place where kids can dream about their lives beyond the four walls of this museum."

Schrimmer also participated in TCMU's Art Adventures summer camp at the museum this week and will wrap up the camp on Saturday, June 19, when he works with campers on an outdoor mural at the museum.

Greenville, S.C. – Hickory scored in six innings while their pitching staff fanned 14 Drive batters enroute to an 8-5 win to end Greenville’s seven-game winning-streak Friday night at Fluor Field.

The Drive compiled 10 hits on the night, one double, and drew six walks. Brandon Howlett led the team with four hits, all singles. Tyler Esplin, three hits, and Christian Koss, two hits, also registered multi-hit efforts. Koss, Cam Cannon, Nick Sogard, Alan Marrero and Cole Brannen compiled RBI. Cannon extending his hitting-streak to 11-games—the longest by a Drive player this year.

Grant Gambrel started for Greenville and was tagged with the loss after relenting five runs on eight hits and two walks over 2.0 innings.

For the third-straight night, the Crawdads starter fanned eight batters. Starter Zak Kent earned the win, working 5.0 innings and allowed no runs on five hits and no walks. Jean Casanova got the save after hurling 1.0 inning with three strikeouts.

The Crawdads scored two runs in the first inning on a Frainyer Chavez RBI double and David Garcia RBI groundout to take a 2-0 lead.

Hickory extended its lead in the second inning. Jake Guenther ripped an RBI double to left and Jake Strahm RBI single to right, giving the away team a 4-0 lead.

With the bases loaded, Scott Kapers was hit-by-pitch to extend the Crawdads lead to 5-0.

Hickory scored in its fourth-straight inning on a Kole Enright RBI single to center. The Crawdads led, 6-0, in the fourth.

Greenville finally tallied its first runs in the sixth inning. Howlett lined a one-out single to left and got to third after back-to-back walks by Tyreque Reed and Wil Dalton. That brought up Sogard who drew a bases-loaded walk—the third-straight of the inning. A fourth-straight walk and second-straight bases-loaded walk, drawn by Marrero, cut the lead to 6-2. A fifth-straight walk and third-straight bases loaded walk, this time by Brannen, brought the score to 6-3. The final run of the inning was plated by Christian Koss on a sac fly to center field. Hickory led, 6-4.

The Crawdads got a run back in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Garcia.

The Drive pulled to within 7-5 Marrero began the inning with a walk. He advanced to second on a groundout to third. Two batters later, Cannon scorched a two-out RBI double to right-center.

For the sixth inning, Hickory scored a run, plating a run on a Strahm RBI single.

Game five against Hickory is scheduled for 7:05 pm Saturday night at Fluor Field. The Drive are slated to throw Chase Shugart while the Crawdads are set to throw Avery Weems.