Cayce, Irmo, West Columbia pass face mask requirements, joining other SC cities
Three Midlands cities passed a requirement Tuesday that residents wear face masks in many public situations to combat the spread of coronavirus, joining a growing list of S.C. cities mandating face coverings.
Municipal councils in Cayce, Irmo and West Columbia approved the requirements on Tuesday.
Cayce’s ordinance requires all residents, visitors and business employees wear face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The vote of the five-person council was unanimous.
Individuals violating the ordinance are subject to a civil infraction and $25 fine, while businesses are subject to a $100 penalty.
The city will provide free masks, while supplies last and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Cayce residents can receive up to two masks per person or five masks per family. Residents that have the ability to purchase their own masks are encouraged to do so.
“This virus is not dead despite what we read in social media,” Mayor Elise Partin said. “If we want to save lives as well as grow the economy and avoid new shutdowns, we must do the things we know that reduce transmission.”
The ordinance will take effect Friday to give business owners a chance to put up signs. It will last for 60 days, Partin said.
West Columbia’s city council later approved their own measure, after a plea from Lexington Medical Center CEO Tod Augsburger. Augsburger urged council members to at least recommend, if not mandate, residents wear masks.
“They can be a little annoying,” Augsburger said of face masks, “but is it too much of a price to pay to keep someone from going to the hospital, or God forbid, dying?”
Augsburger said he worries about the impact on hospital operations if case numbers continue to rise, and warns even if a COVID-19 patient recovers, the long-term impacts of the disease remain largely unknown.
Council members approved the mandate for a 60-day period in retail and restaurant establishments, as well as grocery stores, pharmacies, barber shops and salons, and doctor’s offices.
Other Midlands cities are also considering a mask mandate. Arcadia Lakes, a town of about 900 northeast of Columbia, adopted an ordinance modeled on Richland County’s on Tuesday. The town of Irmo also approved a mask requirement on Tuesday to require residents to wear masks inside most businesses.
Multiple cities across South Carolina have adopted requirements for masks to be warn in public, something that public health experts say can help stop the spread of the coronavirus as case counts in the Palmetto State continue to climb.
Columbia’s citywide mask requirement went into effect on June 26. Forest Acres City Council approved their own version on Thursday, the town of Lexington has added its own requirement the same day. Richland County also adopted a countywide mask requirement, the second county in the state to do so along with Dorchester County.
The new requirements come as cases of COVID-19 continue to climb. Thousands of new cases have been reported in recent days, and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced a record number of hospitalizations on Tuesday. Experts have said they fear a renewed spike in cases after the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
These cities in South Carolina have passed laws requiring face masks, according to the S.C. Commission for Minority Affairs and local news reports:
- Andrews
- Arcadia Lakes
- Bluffton
- Clemson
- Greenville
- Goose Creek
- Spartanburg
- Town of Central
- Camden
- Columbia
- Cayce
- Forest Acres
- Lexington
- Irmo
- West Columbia
- Newberry
- North
- Sumter
- Hartsville
- Lake City
- Orangeburg
- Beaufort
- Charleston
- Edisto Beach
- Florence
- James Island
- Folly Beach
- Hanahan
- Hilton Head
- Isle of Palms
- Kiawah Island
- Seabrook Island
- St. George
- Sullivan’s Island
- Summerville
- Mount Pleasant
- Moncks Corner
- Myrtle Beach
- North Myrtle Beach
- Ridgeville
- Walterboro
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 6:25 PM.
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