Governor’s office misled public about DHEC doctor’s coronavirus stance, she says
The doctor who has overseen much of South Carolina’s response to the coronavirus pandemic says Gov. Henry McMaster’s staff misled the public about her position on reopening restaurants to indoor dining, as well as barber shops and close contact businesses.
State epidemiologist Linda Bell said she regrets not speaking more forcefully about her agency’s positions on COVID-19 policies, according to internal Department of Health and Environmental Control documents obtained by The State newspaper.
Bell, who says she has tried to work with the governor’s office, called McMaster’s staff “somewhat manipulative’’ in meetings about the virus, but she no longer will stand by the governor “without speaking to what the science tells us is the right thing to do.’’
Concerns outlined by Bell in the emails are among the first to indicate tensions between DHEC and the governor’s office over how to deal with the coronavirus, an infectious disease that has killed almost 2,000 people in South Carolina in less than six months.
A key point of discussion has been how quickly the economy should have been reopened. DHEC has urged caution. McMaster has said people need to get back to work.
Bell said the governor’s office made it appear that she backed reopening indoor dining at restaurants, as well as barbershops, earlier than the Department of Health and Environmental Control had advised, records show.
McMaster announced in early May that he would allow restaurants to resume indoor dining on May 11, a week earlier than DHEC recommended.
In June, a governor’s office spokesman said Bell’s failure to challenge McMaster’s decision at a May 8 news conference indicated the agency did not oppose allowing inside restaurant dining on May 11, The State reported.
The governor acted on recommendations from AccelerateSC, a task force established to reopen the economy safely during the pandemic, spokesman Brian Symmes told The State newspaper for a story that appeared online June 19.
“The fact that she was standing next to him would suggest they were not in opposition,’’ Symmes told The State.
But in a June 21 email, Bell said she was “really disappointed’’ in the comments Symmes made to the newspaper.
“Allowing it to go unaddressed is a disservice to DHEC and the public,’’ according to Bell’s email to agency outreach official Warren Bolton and spokeswoman Laura Renwick. “Not speaking out more from a policy perspective is one of the reasons that South Carolina is now among the states with the worst outlook.
“I’m responsible for any detrimental (e)ffect my statements or my omissions may have for public health and I need to fix that.’’
Bell, who has been the face of DHEC’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID 19, says she previously had tried to show a united front with the governor during media briefings about the coronavirus, internal emails show.
“I have avoided openly conflicting with the governor by skirting questions from the media when asked if I agreed with his position,’’ the June 21 email said.
“The governor’s staff are also somewhat manipulative in the meetings that I’ve been allowed to attend prior to the press briefings,’’ the email continued. “I will not ‘stand next to the governor’ anymore without speaking to what the science tells us is the right thing to do, particularly as his staff intend to portray that as my complicity with his position.’’
In a June 25 email, Bell was more blunt. Symmes’ characterization of her position shows she should speak more clearly, the email to Renwick said.
“I feel a need for stronger statements from DHEC about what we need if we are to get our disease rates under control,’’ the email said. “I don’t want to continue to walk this fine line as more and more lives are at risk.’’
Symmes has said the governor sees the coronavirus pandemic as serious and that people need to take precautions. But with people out of work after the shutdown of the state’s economy in the spring, the state needed to get back in business, the governor has said.
Since the coronavirus first surfaced in South Carolina in early March, DHEC has appeared to disagree with some of McMaster’s decisions, including his reluctance to require people to wear masks. But the agency has dodged questions when pressed by the media.
Symmes said Saturday that McMaster appreciates Bell’s efforts, but robust debate is expected in trying to make decisions that help the public.
“Dr. Bell’s perspective and expertise has been — and continues to be — an important component of this process,’’ Symmes said in an email. “But we have to remember that the governor’s scope of responsibilities and considerations is vastly different from that of our public health experts, who rightly have a more narrow focus.’’
COVID 19 has killed nearly 2,000 people in South Carolina and infected nearly 100,000. Critics say McMaster’s decisions to reopen the economy have contributed to the spread of the virus. In mid-June, about the time of Bell’s emails, the state had about 20,000 cases of coronavirus.
South Carolina has been cited nationally as among states where the coronavirus has been spreading rapidly.
After many restrictions were eased, people jammed South Carolina beaches for Memorial Day. The Fourth of July holiday also drew huge crowds to the coast, and many people are continuing to congregate for weddings and funerals, and to associate in bars.
McMaster’s office has said it’s difficult to enforce mask rules and the state needs its economy open because people need jobs.
Bell’s emails, obtained by The State under South Carolina’s open records law, followed The State’s June 19 story about McMaster’s failure to heed DHEC’s advice on reopening restaurants.
In the June story, The State reported that McMaster decided to reopen restaurants for indoor dining May 11, even though DHEC’s chief of staff, Jennifer Read, had said they should open no sooner than May 18 to give the agency time to tell if the disease was spreading. Before that, McMaster was allowing only pickup service and outdoor dining.
The agency also recommended waiting two weeks after restaurant indoor dining opened before allowing barber shops and other close contact businesses to open. But McMaster did not follow that advice either, the newspaper reported, citing internal agency documents.
Reached Saturday, Bell declined to elaborate, saying her comments speak for themselves. But the agency issued a statement Saturday afternoon from acting director Marshall Taylor after Symmes’ statement. DHEC’s email appeared to support Symmes’ statement.
“DHEC public health officials routinely and collaboratively work with the governor’s office,’’ Taylor said in the statement. “Our role is to provide sound public health guidance to the governor so he can consider it, along with a myriad of other factors, when he is making decisions intended to be in the best interest of all South Carolinians. DHEC greatly respects Dr. Bell and all of our public health experts. Their insight, recommendations and willingness to work with others during these difficult times is commendable.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2020 at 2:06 PM.
