Beaufort to end mask mandate in city buildings. Here’s when the requirement expires
The requirement to wear masks inside City of Beaufort buildings will end on Monday, City Manager Bill Prokop said.
It’s the second time the city has dropped the requirement.
The lifting of the rule means residents speaking at public meetings at City Hall or doing business inside city facilities no longer need to mask up when they enter. Masks still will be required in municipal court, per the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court policy, which overrides City rules on courts.
Prokop made the announcement at a City Council meeting Tuesday.
Numbers of COVID-19 cases are “way down,” Prokop said after the meeting. He noted that the number of people being treated for the virus at Beaufort Memorial Hospital is down, too.
South Carolina reported fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday for the first time since July 20, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Even with the lifting of the mask requirement inside city-run buildings, Prokop said the city still advises that residents follow recommendations from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Health officials recommend wearing a face mask and getting the coronavirus vaccine to help limit the spread of the virus.
Beaufort dropped the mask requirement for public buildings in mid-May but reinstated the requirement Aug. 2. At the time, a surge in COVID-19 Delta variant cases and more COVID-related hospitalizations at Beaufort Memorial Hospital prompted the city to urge mask wearing again, along with vaccinations.
Prokop also noted on Tuesday that one of the city’s police officers, who had been hospitalized for a month with COVID-19 at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, was allowed to go home. The officer, Prokop said, had been on a ventilator.
“It was his desire and strong will, along with excellent care and lots of prayers, that enabled this to happen,” Prokop said.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 11:40 AM.
