Lexington still plans Fourth of July fireworks show despite coronavirus outbreak
Lexington’s Fourth of July celebration is going forward this week, in a modified form because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
While other communities in South Carolina have forgone their Independence Day celebrations to avoid spreading COVID-19, the town of Lexington will hold a fireworks show on Friday. The show will begin at 9:15 p.m. Fireworks will be fired from a lot on South Church Street behind Town Hall.
In preparation, Virginia Hylton Park will close to the public at 7:30 p.m. to keep people out of what town spokeswoman Laurin Barnes called the “fallout zone.”
To encourage social distancing while watching the fireworks, there won’t really be a public viewing area, said Barnes. She suggests watching from Main Street, Lexington Square Park, the Lexington Veterans Monument, “and any public parking lot in the downtown area.”
A planned concert to go along with the fireworks display has been canceled, but instead “people can tune in to 88.7 on their radio to hear a message from the Mayor and then patriotic music,” Barnes said. Barnes suggested viewers watch from their cars to maximize social distancing, while allowing them to listen in on the radio.
Other communities across South Carolina are canceling planned fireworks shows over the Fourth of July weekend over fears that large crowds could spread the coronavirus. South Carolina has recently seen a sharp upturn in the number of coronavirus cases. Public health experts have identified more than 1,300 new cases of COVID-19 in recent days, and a record of more than 1,000 people were hospitalized with COVID-related symptoms on Monday.
In Lexington County, 1,959 people had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Monday, an increase of more than 300 percent from the 572 who tested positive by May 26.
Last week, Columbia and other S.C. cities passed local ordinances requiring residents to wear face masks in most situations in public to halt the spread of the disease. The Columbia Fireflies baseball team has postponed its plans for a fireworks show at Segra Park on July 4 due to COVID-19 fears.
Cities that have canceled their fireworks shows include Greenville, Myrtle Beach, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Fountain Inn, Goose Creek and the Isle of Palms.
Elsewhere in Lexington County, the Saturday night fireworks show held by Lake Murray Country from Dreher Island State Park in Lake Murray is still scheduled to go ahead at 9:15 p.m., but the Lexington County Peach Festival in Gilbert has been canceled.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 11:19 AM.
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