Myrtle Beach closes down: City shutters hotels, amusements as coronavirus threat grows
Visitors spending time in Myrtle Beach will be asked to leave as officials look to shut down hotels, accommodations services and attractions as the coronavirus continues to spread.
Myrtle Beach City Council met in an emergency conference call meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss health-related measures and restrictions needed to protect the community as confirmed cases of the coronavirus continue to increase.
Accommodations services would include hotels, motels, condo hotels, rental properties, Airbnb’s, VRBO style lodging and public and private campgrounds. Existing reservations from Saturday through April 30 must be rescheduled or canceled. All visitors at these properties must leave by noon Sunday.
Those occupying units since March 1 will be exempt from the ordinance but will be restricted from allowing visitors from staying with them until further notice.
“We are happy to close under these circumstances and give the chance of squelching this virus,” said Matthew Brittain, CEO of Brittain Resort & Hotels, which operates 10 condotels on the Grand Strand, including seven in city limits. “It’s obviously very damaging for the present moment, no question of that. [But] it could save our summer. They could be doing the right thing and probably are doing the right thing.
“. . . They could be doing business a big favor, and probably are.”
All amusements that attract tourists and residents must be closed by Friday. Amusements would include but are not limited to movie theaters, miniature golf courses, amusement parks, arcades, moped/golf cart rentals, and golf courses within city limits, which are Whispering Pines Golf Club, Pine Lakes Country Club and Grande Dunes Resort’s two courses.
Other businesses that remain open are urged to adhere to all Center of Disease and Control and Prevention regulations on cleanliness and social distancing.
“We have to protect our community is the bottom line,” Mayor Brenda Bethune said. “We must act to stop the spread of this virus.”
North Myrtle Beach City Council passed an ordinance Thursday morning prohibiting short-term rentals starting 7 a.m. on Friday through April 30. Hotels, rental properties, inclusive of private management companies and HOA’s, Airbnb, VRBO-style lodging, public and private campgrounds and other overnight accommodations are included in the ordinance.
Short-term rentals extended to government, hospital, health agency, law enforcement, military and other critical personnel actively responding to COVID-19 will be exempt from the ordinance. Additionally, visitors currently checked in may remain until the end of their existing reservations.
Those who violate the ordinance would be subject to a fine not exceeding $500, up to 30 days in jail or both.
Nearly two weeks after Horry County reported its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, the number has grown to 21 as of Thursday afternoon. South Carolina has reported 456 cases in 39 counties, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
There has been one death in Horry County due to the virus. The first case of the coronavirus in the Myrtle Beach area was confirmed March 14. South Carolina has had nine deaths.
DHEC projects the state will reach 2,657 cumulative cases by April 2 and 8,053 cases by May 2, though projected data is estimated and may change significantly due to various factors, the agency said.
The Sun News reporter Alan Blondin contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach closes down: City shutters hotels, amusements as coronavirus threat grows."
