Lexington face mask mandate back in effect through the spring
Lexington residents will need to put their masks back on after the Town Council approved a new requirement that face masks be worn in public.
The 5-2 vote put a mask requirement back in place through May 1, nearly two months after a previous mask requirement expired.
“Every city around us has a mask ordinance,” said Mayor Steve MacDougall. “Our health officials are asking for a mask ordinance, our business professionals are asking for a mask ordinance, our schools are asking for a mask ordinance, and that’s what we’re doing.”
MacDougall supported the measure, along with Steve Baker, Hazel Livingston, Kathy Maness and Ron Williams. Todd Carnes and Todd Lyle voted against. The new ordinance goes into effect “upon signature of the mayor.”
Carnes said he opposed a mandate because most businesses in the town limits already require customers to wear masks.
“If you support a mandate, then even without a mandate, you’re getting 95% of what you want,” Carnes said.
But Carnes also said he doesn’t want the issue to be politicized or descend into name-calling.
“If this ordinance goes in, I’ll put on my mask and walk out,” he said. “I’m a law-abiding citizen and I believe in the principles of our republic.”
The new ordinance requires that a face covering be worn in all grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail businesses open to the public. Face coverings will also be required in any situation where it is not possible to maintain a six-foot distance from another person.
Maness said she supports the measure as the mother of a child who is especially vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus.
“When people say, ‘It doesn’t affect you if you don’t have underlying health conditions,’ I take offense to that,” Maness said. “(My son) can live a full life as long as he doesn’t get this virus.”
Many speakers at Monday’s meeting are opposed to the town reimposing a mask requirement, expressing skepticism that masks are effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and claiming a mandate violates their civil liberties.
“You’re saying you do not trust the citizens of Lexington to make decisions on what’s best for them and their family, and it’s causing people to not trust their council,” said Rebecca Godfrey. “Wear a mask for the rest of your life if you want to, but don’t force us to.”
But public 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.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say wearing masks along with social distancing and frequent hand washing are tools that can be used to stop the spread of COVID-19, which is seeing deadly surges in South Carolina and across the country.
“Masks work best when everyone wears one,” according to the CDC’s latest guidance.
The measures are necessary during a highly-contagious and deadly pandemic, experts say.
“It’s not a permanent law. We’re in the middle of a pandemic that we haven’t experienced in 100 years,” said Dr. Lynn Tucker, a Lexington physician. “I know everyone is exhausted and tired. I know you heard conflicting evidence in the beginning... Once everyone is vaccinated, this will go away.”
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.
Two weeks ago, the Lexington Town Council approved reimposing mask requirements by a 4-3 vote. MacDougall supported a new mask mandate along with Baker, Livingston and Maness. Carnes, Lyle and Williams voted against it.
At the time, MacDougall said the requirement was needed to prevent local hospitals from being overwhelmed by new COVID-19 cases in the winter months. Just last week, Lexington Medical Center and Prisma Health’s Midlands hospitals administered the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to frontline workers, in advance of what health officials hope will be a much more widespread rollout of the long-awaited vaccine.
In the week leading into Monday, Lexington County reported more new cases of COVID-19 than its larger neighbor Richland County in five of eight days.
In total, South Carolina has recorded 255,210 cases of the coronavirus since March and 4,587 COVID-related deaths. About a quarter of reported cases have come in the last 30 days.
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.
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 21, 2020 at 8:15 PM.
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