Columbia, SC ends citywide COVID-19 mask mandate
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Columbia City Council has repealed its citywide mask mandate as COVID-19 case numbers have continued to ease.
The move came with a vote during a Tuesday afternoon council meeting at the Busby Street Community Center. The vote to end the mask ordinance was unanimous. The repeal of the mask mandate is effective immediately.
While the city will no longer require masks in businesses, schools and crowded outdoor spaces, they still will be required inside city-owned buildings.
Later Tuesday, the neighboring city of Forest Acres announced its emergency mask ordinance will expire Wednesday.
Like Columbia, masks will no longer be required to be worn when entering businesses, in addition to city offices, or any other building or structure open to the general public in Forest Acres. Private businesses can continue to enforce a mask policy, said spokeswoman Lynnsey Baker.
Columbia City Council had most recently extended the mask ordinance in early October, and it was supposed to have lasted until early December. However, the council decided Tuesday to end it early.
The ordinance had required residents to wear face masks inside of commercial businesses or other indoor venues open to the public in the city. It also said residents were required to wear masks “in situations where distances between people change frequently, such as a busy sidewalk, waiting area or popular outdoor area where it is impractical or impossible” to maintain social distancing.
Fines for violating the ordinance were $100, and the measure was enforced by marshals with the city’s fire department.
The city’s ordinance also required faculty and staff in public K-12 schools in the city to wear masks. Richland District One also has its own mask mandate in place.
Richland One spokeswoman Karen York confirmed Tuesday that the district board’s policy regarding face masks is still in effect.
“Under that policy, students and staff are required to wear masks inside schools and administrative buildings and on school buses,” York said.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said there have been “significant” decreases in new cases of COVID, deaths and the percentage of positive cases statewide recently.
“We are watching a dramatic decrease in the rate of cases per 100,000 individuals,” Benjamin said.
On Tuesday, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 382 new COVID cases and two new deaths, and a percent positive of 4.3%.
Benjamin urged citizens to get vaccinated, and to be cautious and responsible in crowded spaces.
“The greatest challenge we face between now and the end of the year is, honestly, Thanksgiving, it’s families,” Benjamin said. “We really want to encourage everyone, families, when we are around the ones we love most, let’s be careful, let’s be thoughtful, let’s be sure we are doing everything we can to discourage the spread of COVID-19. We can do it.”
Benjamin, whose time as mayor is winding to a close as he didn’t seek re-election this year, also said he expected Tuesday’s meeting would be the last at Busby Street. Council meetings had shifted to that expansive facility as a COVID precaution. Meetings for the rest of 2021 will return to City Hall on Main Street.
“Hopefully we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s sunlight, not a train,” Benjamin said of the pandemic.
The city has required its employees be vaccinated against COVID by the end of 2021. While firings are not part of the city’s policy, employees who don’t get vaccinated could face financial penalties. As of Tuesday, about 81% of the city’s workforce of 2,200 employees were vaccinated.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 3:10 PM.
