Columbia extends face mask ordinance to stem COVID spread
The city of Columbia has extended a requirement that all residents and visitors wear masks when they are in public to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The city council voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to approved the extension.
Council members voted in June after a nearly 4-hour emergency session to require the masks for anyone in public and within six feet of someone else. Employees of all businesses will also be required to wear masks.
Not wearing a mask is a civil infraction with a fine up to $25. Those not complying were to be given warnings first.
“We still have a serious situation,” Mayor Steve Benjamin said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
In addition, all restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, salons and pharmacies must require their employees to wear a face covering at all times while having face-to-face interaction with the public. Any business owner or supervisor not complying with the ordinance could be fined up to $100 for each day of offense.
Columbia was the second major South Carolina city to require face masks; Greenville was the first. Since then Richland County and cities across the state, including Cayce, West Columbia and Irmo, have passed ordinances requiring masks
The extension will be in effect for two months unless renewed again.
The city been distributing masks to those who cannot afford them.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Monday reported an additional 1,105 cases of the virus in South Carolina. Eleven deaths were also reported Monday, down from 27 reported the day before.
The number of COVID-19 patients in South Carolina hospitals remains high, at 1,437, state data show. That includes 366 people in intensive care, 224 of whom are on ventilators.
At least 92,404 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina, and 1,721 have died, according to state health officials.
Under the new emergency ordinance, masks would be required for anyone:
▪ Inside a public building or waiting to enter a public building
▪ Interacting with someone within six feet in an outdoor space
▪ Engaged in business in a private space
▪ Using public or private transportation
▪ Walking in public where maintaining a six-foot distance from others may not be possible.
The ordinance defines a face mask as “at least a simple cloth face covering,” ranging from surgical masks, N95 respirators, face shields or bandannas, as long as it covers both the mouth and nose and does not have any holes.
The requirement would apply to anyone in the city limits aged 10 and up.
Columbia’s ordinance also spells out when residents would not be required to wear masks. Those circumstances include:
▪ When riding in a personal vehicle
▪ When alone in an enclosed space, or when only other household members are present
▪ When outdoors and able to maintain a six-foot distance at all times
▪ While eating, drinking or smoking
▪ When wearing a mask could aggravate health conditions.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 2:25 PM.