Lexington could bring back face mask requirement as COVID-19 cases rise
The town of Lexington is considering bringing back a requirement that residents wear face masks in public to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Mayor Steve MacDougall introduced the measure at a town council meeting on Monday and said the new mask ordinance could get final approval at a specially called meeting next week.
MacDougall said the town needs to take measures to combat a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
“Our spike today is higher than our spike in the summertime,” MacDougall said. “It’s time for everyone to go back and do their part to try to get ahead of this thing before it takes over and inundates our medical folks... especially folks at the hospital who are saying, ‘Please, please help us.’”
The motion passed a first reading 4-3 this week. MacDougall supported a new mask mandate along with Steve Baker, Hazel Livingston and Kathy Maness. Councilmen Todd Carnes, Todd Lyle and Ron Williams voted against it.
A special called meeting to discuss and vote on a new face mask requirement will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21.
The town of Lexington previously had an emergency mask ordinance put in place July 2, as other municipalities were adopting similar measures during a spike in cases over the summer. That measure was reapproved for 60 days on Aug. 30 but was allowed to expire in early November.
Details of the potential new mask ordinance weren’t discussed on Monday, but the previous ordinance required masks be worn in all grocery stores, pharmacies, and other retail businesses open to the public. Business employees were also required to wear masks under the ordinance.
South Carolina has no statewide mask requirement, and Lexington County has also not adopted a countywide mask standard, leading to varied mask requirements from one municipality to another.
Carnes is one of the council members skeptical that a mask requirement is an effective way of combating the virus, noting that 35 states currently have some kind of statewide mask mandate while 15 do not.
“There doesn’t seem to be any discernible pattern or any discrepancies between the 35 and the 15,” Carnes said.
Health experts say masks create an effective physical barrier to prevent infected droplets from the mouth or nose of one person from spreading to other surfaces or other people.
Editor’s note: this story has been updated to include the date and time of the special town council meeting on the face mask ordinance.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
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