Beaufort City Council extends COVID mask ordinance another two months. What that means
Beaufort City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to extend its COVID-19 mask ordinance through the beginning of April, following its neighboring governments.
There was no public comment, nor any discussion from council, besides Mayor Stephen Murray’s opening comment.
“While I think we’re making progress out of this pandemic, we are not there yet,” Murray said, adding that he regularly sits in on calls with S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, local hospital officials and elected leaders.
“I think it still warrants mandatory masking in place, social distancing, sanitizing, and trying to limit our activities as much as possible,” Murray said. “I know we’re all restless. I certainly am, but again, I believe the end is in sight.”
The extension is good for 61 days, which is April 9, or until the state of emergency is lifted.
The city’s mask ordinance requires people to wear face coverings when entering any building open to the public. It also requires employees to wear masks when they’re close to coworkers and in areas where they might interact with the public. There are exceptions for those who can’t wear a mask due to age or health conditions and while eating and drinking.
The penalty is a civil fine of $50, though the city says it has encouraged voluntary compliance.
DHEC reported 37 new COVID-19 cases in Beaufort County on Tuesday, which has continued a decline in daily case counts following a holiday surge. The seven-day average of new cases in the county was 55.2 as of Tuesday.
Vaccination roll out has been slow because of high demand and lack of supplies, but local hospitals, including Beaufort Memorial Hospital, were utilizing the doses they had in stock.
