Another COVID-19 curfew in Columbia? Council set to discuss it as USC students return
It’s been two months since the city of Columbia’s nightly curfew aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 expired, but another one is on the table.
Mayor Steve Benjamin and the city council are set to discuss a new curfew when they meet Tuesday, according to an agenda of the meeting posted online.
In addition, the council will talk about how to deal with communal swimming pools at apartment complexes and house parties during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as its ordinance requiring facial coverings and violations of it.
The council’s considerations reflect concerns as the University of South Carolina prepares for move-in weekend. Thousands of students will be returning to Columbia, and as they do, there is some fear that they will engage in unsafe behaviors that could help spread the virus.
Benjamin acknowledged those fears at the city council’s last meeting.
“I’ve been having several conversations with President (Bob) Caslen at USC,” Benjamin said. “Obviously he has serious concerns about making sure the students are part of the solution, not a part of the problem when they return back to campus. We want to have some deeper-dive discussions on that. Obviously there are policy-making decisions that we’ll all have to consider, including ideas like a curfew again.”
A curfew would mostly impact nightlife districts like Five Points, a favorite gathering point for USC students, that’s filled with bars and restaurants. On weekends, students often stay in Five Points deep into the night and on until morning.
When Five Points’ bars and restaurants started reopening around the end of May as Gov. Henry McMaster began lifting COVID-19 restrictions, they were quickly filled with large crowds that McMaster and Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s epidemiologist, deemed concerning. One establishment closed early to combat the crowd.
Since then, several restaurants have had to re-close due to coronavirus cases among staff, per WIS-TV.
Caslen also addressed the concerns of students contributing to the spread of the virus recently, saying in a virtual staff town hall that he is “optimistic” students’ behavior amid the pandemic won’t be as bad as some fear.
At the same time, Caslen acknowledged that “students are students and they’re going to do what they’re going to do.” He said USC is prepared to help the city enforce any ordinance it passes in Five Points.
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
