Beaufort leaders will consider a mask requirement. Here’s how it compares to others
Following similar announcements from other Beaufort County municipalities this week and after an impassioned letter from the CEO of the local hospital, Beaufort leaders will discuss an emergency ordinance Monday requiring masks in all buildings open to the public within city limits in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The proposed rule is more expansive than those on the table on Hilton Head and in Bluffton, where local leaders are considering face mask requirements for the general public only in grocery stores and pharmacies.
As of Friday, Beaufort’s ZIP code had recorded 205 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, with the county’s seven-day average of reported cases spiking in June.
“The only way to stop this current surge is universal masking,” wrote Beaufort Memorial Hospital CEO Russell Baxley in a letter to Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling on Thursday, reported The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. “The only way to save lives is universal masking.”
Beaufort’s draft ordinance cites “a strong message from the medical community” in justifying the proposed rule.
At a Friday press conference, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said that enforcing a statewide masking order would be “impossible,” even as the state health agency reported nearly 1,300 new cases of the virus.
Without action from McMaster, cities across the state, including Columbia, Charleston and Greenville, moved in recent days to require masks in public spaces, although the specifics vary by jurisdiction.
What does Beaufort’s draft rule require?
Beaufort’s proposed ordinance would require anyone entering “any building open to the public” in the city to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth while inside.
It also mandates employees of restaurants and “retail establishments of every description” to don masks any time they are in an area where the general public is allowed or when they are in close proximity to other workers. This requirement extends to tours and curbside pickup and delivery operations, the draft ordinance says.
Only people who can’t wear a mask for health reasons, people who can’t remove a mask by themselves and people in personal vehicles or in the presence of other members of their household in an enclosed space are exempt. The ordinance also has a carve-out for “people who are actively drinking or eating.”
Failure to comply with the ordinance would be a civil infraction punishable by a fine of $50, and repeated violations at a business could result in the city revoking its license or seeking a court order to enforce the ordinance.
Business-owners will have to post signage at the entrances of their buildings altering patrons to the requirement but won’t be responsible for enforcing it, except with their employees, the draft ordinance says.
If passed, the order would go into effect at 11:59 p.m. on June 30 and expire in 31 days or when the city’s state of emergency ends, whichever comes first. It could also be extended, according to the ordinance.
The city council meeting on the draft rule will be broadcast on the city’s Facebook page beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday. Public comment can be made via Facebook or emailed before the meeting to City Clerk Ivette Burgess at iburgess@cityofbeaufort.org
This story was originally published June 27, 2020 at 12:17 PM.
