Another Midlands city extends COVID-19 face mask mandate into the new year
Another Midlands municipality has extended its face mask requirement into the new year.
West Columbia City Council unanimously approved an extension of the city’s face mask mandate on Wednesday, shortly before the emergency requirement was set to expire after New Year’s.
The city has required residents to wear face masks in certain locations since July. The emergency measure automatically expires after 60 days, so the ordinance most recently renewed on Nov. 2 was due to expire Jan. 2.
The ordinance requires masks be worn in all grocery stores, pharmacies, and other retail businesses open to the public. Business employees are also required to wear masks if they interact with members of the public, co-workers or where they can’t maintain a six-foot distance from others.
Anyone not wearing a mask can face a $25 fine.
City Administrator Brian Carter said West Columbia has monitored ZIP code data provided by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control throughout the pandemic. He said last month the city’s ZIP code saw a 32% increase in positive cases. Several city employees are currently in quarantine after exposure to the virus, Carter said. Lexington Medical Center, which is just outside the city limits, has also seen its highest level of COVID-19 admissions in recent weeks, he said.
The move comes amid a rise in COVID-19 cases across the state. On Wednesday, South Carolina broke its previous record for patients hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms and 42 new deaths from the disease. Health experts are predicting a surge in new cases this winter as a vaccine is slowly rolled out to the general public.
Last week, the town of Lexington reimposed its own mask ordinance after allowing it to lapse in November. Lexington Town Council added a measure to its ordinance extending the mask requirement to May 1. Lexington County has no countywide mask ordinance.
West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles cited Lexington’s experience to argue for the continuing need to require masks.
“If the mandate made no difference, they wouldn’t have felt the need to have it brought back up,” Miles said.
Across the river, the city of Columbia recently extended its mask ordinance, in effect since June, until mid-February. The extension was passed unanimously by the city council, and Columbia has also increased its fines for mask violations from $25 to $100. An enforcement blitz last month issued 130 tickets across the capital city in a single weekend.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 5:11 PM.
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