Despite confusion and backlash, Beaufort County extends COVID-19 state of emergency
As hundreds of negative Facebook comments rolled in, Beaufort County Council voted to extend its COVID-19 state of emergency Monday night to coincide with the statewide emergency order. When Gov. Henry McMaster rescinds that order, the county’s order will end, too.
The chaotic virtual meeting was fraught with technical difficulties, confusion among council members over whether the emergency ordinance included mask requirements and significant backlash from vocal Facebook commenters. Some vowed to vote the elected leaders out of office if they extended the ordinance.
But most of the commenters, and even some of the elected leaders, appeared confused on what the council was actually approving. Throughout the meeting, in which the ordinance’s verbiage changed several times, council members frequently lost track of what they were voting on.
Beaufort County’s public health state of emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic — first instituted in March, along with every other local government in Beaufort County — allows for government leaders to meet virtually, gives County Administrator Ashley Jacobs the power to unilaterally implement an emergency operations plan to respond to the virus, and allows the county to apply for equipment to fight the virus.
The ordinance also “keeps us parallel” with Gov. McMaster’s statewide emergency order, Jacobs said.
The extension of the state of emergency does not directly affect the county’s mandatory mask requirements, which are set to expire on Oct. 23. Council will likely discuss at its Oct. 12 meeting whether to extend that ordinance.
Despite stating Monday night that the mask ordinance would expire if council didn’t extend its emergency order, Council Chair Joe Passiment told a reporter Tuesday that the two ordinances are completely separate.
However, the majority of the 710 Facebook comments during the meeting seemed to believe that if the council extended the state of emergency, the mask requirement would also be extended.
“Lawsuits are coming! We the people will not stand idly by while you people unlawfully infringe on our freedoms,” said one commenter.
“Disgusted with the lack of interest in listening to your constituents!! There is no emergency!! These masks are ridiculous,” said another.
Throughout the meeting, the council was bewildered by the number of people watching and commenting.
Several of the comments linked to websites such as No Mask Required HHI — one of several groups that has organized protests across the county against mandatory mask requirements, despite growing evidence that they help stop the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that masks reduce the spray of respiratory droplets when worn over the nose and mouth, but many viral videos of people refusing to wear them have been shared online.
Virtual Beaufort County Council meetings typically receive between 10 and 20 comments.
Council member Mike Covert, who spoke and voted against the extension of the state of emergency, asked Chair Passiment whether council could read the hundreds of Facebook comments on “this highly toxic item” before voting.
Passiment declined and later asked another council member to summarize the commenters’ concerns.
“We know exactly where the public stands,” he said. “The cadre of individuals who are absolutely opposed to this. You get them every day. I get them every day. I don’t think it’s going to sway any one person in this room. You just have to vote.”
Council member Chris Hervochon countered that the high volume of comments was “more than a cadre.”
“I’m on Facebook and the comments are coming in rather rapidly ... It’s more than just a couple of folks,” he said. “It’s really quite remarkable ... I think it’s important to acknowledge that the public is being heard and they are being seen.”
Citing the confusion in the meeting and the backlash from users on Facebook, Council member Gerald Dawson agreed with Council member Stu Rodman’s motion that the ordinance should be extended until the governor rescinds the statewide order instead of having to renew the ordinance every 30 or 60 days.
“I’m actually tired of coming back every 60 days and rehashing this issue, hearing all the negative comments,” Dawson said. “But the bottom line is the virus is real. It’s killing people. And until all those folks who are in a state of denial get the virus, they’re not going to get the point. We just saw what happened in Washington D.C., in the White House. This virus is serious, and people need to take it serious.”
The motion to extend the state of emergency was approved 7-4, with council members York Glover, Brian Flewelling, Covert and Hervochon voting against it.
As an impromptu send-off to the confusing and disorganized meeting, Covert joked that council was “on a roll.”
“I’d like to go ahead and make a motion that we outlaw peanut butter and maple syrup because it makes me fat,” he said.
“That’s an off agenda item, sir,” said Flewelling, the council’s parliamentarian.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 3:08 PM.
