Beaufort County extends face mask rules, state of emergency. How long?
Face masks will continue to be required when entering any commercial or public buildings in unincorporated Beaufort County through April 15. Three Beaufort County Council members voted against both the face mask rules and an extension of the county’s state of emergency Monday.
In two separate votes, the council voted 8-3 Monday evening to renew its mandatory face mask ordinance and its state of emergency. The face mask rules have been in place since early July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mask rules were approved with little opposition. Unlike in previous meetings, there were no public comments supporting or opposing the ordinance.
It’s the third time the county’s governing body has voted to extend the rules since its controversial vote in mid-October almost caused the ordinance to expire.
After that vote, the council tried unsuccessfully to pass a permanent ordinance in October that would have required face masks in the county for an indefinite period.
On Monday, Council members Logan Cunningham, Brian Flewelling and Chris Hervochon voted against both emergency ordinances.
All three elected officials said the rules were an example of government overreach and that business owners should decide whether to require masks. Flewelling said he voted against the state of emergency because he felt that COVID-19 was not an emergent situation.
Cunningham said the mask rules were “taking away” business owners’ choice to require masks.
Council member Larry McElynn, however, said that although residents are “quarantine fatigued,” the county is in a “pivotal moment” of the pandemic and people need to be prepared by wearing masks.
“We do not want to let our guard down now,” he said.
The rules
Along with requiring people to wear face masks when entering commercial buildings, the rules also require employees of retail businesses, salons, grocery stores and pharmacies to wear face masks when near the general public or other employees.
The requirement applies to all people using public or commercial transportation and all employees interacting with people in outdoor spaces such as curbside pickup, delivery and service calls.
Unlike the rules on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton, the only penalties listed in the ordinance are for repeat violations.
Any repeat violations may be declared a nuisance, according to the ordinance, and Beaufort County may revoke a company’s business license if they occur.
Several people or places are exempt from the rules:
▪ Children younger than 2 “or at the discretion of the parent, custodian or guardian”
▪ People who are unable to wear a mask due to age or health condition
▪ Those who are unable to remove a face mask without assistance from others
▪ Anyone who is traveling in a personal vehicle
▪ Anyone who is alone or in the presence of household members in an enclosed space
▪ People who are actively eating or drinking
▪ People actively swimming
What does ‘unincorporated’ mean?
Uneven growth in municipalities has resulted in Swiss cheese-like jurisdictions and pockets of unincorporated territory in Beaufort County. This means that some businesses and indoor public spaces will be subject to different rules from their neighbors.
Beaufort County’s public GIS mapping site includes municipal boundaries for the county. Beaufort’s are marked in red on the map.
The mask rules approved by Bluffton are for people and businesses within the town’s limits. Bluffton, however, has many “doughnut holes,” or areas that are not incorporated.
Although a business may have a Bluffton address, it may be in unincorporated Beaufort County. The Walmart Supercenter at Bluffton Road and U.S. 278, for example, is not within town limits.
To find out if you or your business is within the town’s limits, enter your address in the town’s “Am I in Bluffton” application.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 7:27 PM.
