Richland County Council to consider emergency rule requiring masks in schools
Richland County Council will meet Monday to consider implementing an emergency rule requiring masks to be worn in schools and day cares as COVID-19 cases continue to remain high in South Carolina.
The emergency ordinance, which will be introduced by County Council Chair Paul Livingston, notes Richland County is still in a state of emergency that was declared in March 2020, according to a news release. The rule would apply to both public and private school students.
The emergency ordinance would apply to all schools and day cares in the county that teach students between the ages of 2 through 14. The City of Columbia approved an emergency ordinance earlier this month that calls for all elementary and middle schools and day cares in the city limits to wear masks.
S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson said last week the City of Columbia’s mask ordinance is in violation of a temporary state law, called a proviso.
The proviso — a one-year law written into the South Carolina fiscal budget — prevents local school districts from requiring masks at schools. If Richland County approves this emergency measure, it sets up the county for a potential legal showdown with state officials, who have stood by the proviso, despite the number of new coronavirus cases being at their highest level since January.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone over the age of 2 wear masks inside schools, whether they are vaccinated or not, according to the CDC’s website. The draft of the emergency rule also cites Kershaw County schools, which recently returned to classes and saw COVID-19 outbreaks that caused 7% of the student population to be quarantined.
Rising COVID-19 cases throughout the country have been driven by people eligible for the vaccine refusing to get it, and the emergence of the delta variant.
The mandatory mask rule would last for 61 days after it is passed, which is Oct. 16.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 9:53 AM.