Biden issued new mask mandates. Here’s what SC residents need to know
During his first days in office, President Joe Biden signed a pair of executive orders aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, including several mask requirements.
Though South Carolina already has some mask-related regulations, the Biden administration’s new steps would further expand the areas where Palmetto State residents and travelers to the state would be required to wear masks.
State health officials said the new mask requirements could prove helpful in South Carolina, where cases have soared over the past six weeks.
“Any time people are wearing masks, the more people that are wearing masks when they’re out and around each other, that is going to help lower the spread of this virus,” said Brannon Traxler, the interim director of public health for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Traxler pointed to the summer, when several local governments put in place their own mask requirements. According to a DHEC analysis released in August, areas where masks were required showed a 46.3% greater decrease in the total number of new cases.
“We certainly do encourage everyone to wear masks any time they’re out in public or around people outside their household,” Traxler said. “Every little bit counts.”
The more wide-reaching of Biden’s orders affects travelers.
Biden’s order requires people to wear masks inside of airports, on commercial planes, while on trains, public boats like ferries, on intercity bus services and on all other forms of public transportation.
The order does not extend to people traveling across state lines in private vehicles.
Some transportation systems in South Carolina already require passengers to wear masks.
For example, COMET, Columbia’s public bus system, has required all riders to wear a mask since June. That same month, Charleston city council passed an ordinance that required masks to be worn on public and commercial transportation services. State Superintendent Molly Spearman requires all school bus riders to wear masks.
For South Carolina airports, however, the order marks a significant change.
While most major airlines required passengers to wear masks, travelers were not required to wear masks inside of Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport officials also strongly encouraged masks, but did not require them, according to the airport’s website.
Charleston International Airport and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a popular airport for South Carolina travelers, required travelers to wear masks before the Biden administration order.
Biden’s order also requires travelers entering the United States from a foreign country to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
Details on how this order would be enforced were still being hashed out as of Thursday afternoon.
The second order would require people to wear masks inside of federal buildings and on federal property. Biden signed the order on his first day in office.
The order also requires federal employees and those interacting with them to follow social distancing guidelines.
There are several federal buildings across the state, including federal courthouses in Aiken, Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville and Spartanburg. The order would also extend to the U.S. Customhouse in Charleston, the Strom Thurmond Federal Building in Columbia and Veterans Administration offices across the state, as well as any other offices owned or rented by federal agencies.
As of Thursday, it was unclear whether masks will be required at outdoor properties owned by the federal government, like the Congaree National Park or other properties run by the National Park Service.
Alongside those working in federal office buildings in South Carolina, the order applies to members of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard who are in federal service.
South Carolina has several active military bases, including Columbia’s Fort Jackson, Marine Corps bases in Beaufort, Joint Base Charleston and Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. The National Guard also has headquarters in Columbia and an Air National Guard base in Eastover, and there is an active Coast Guard sector in Charleston.
Agencies in charge of the facilities get to decide how to implement Biden’s requirements.
State and local mask requirements
Biden’s mask orders add to a patchwork of requirements already in place across South Carolina.
In July, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster issued a targeted mask rule that required face coverings to be worn inside of restaurants and entertainment venues. The order did not extend to retailers, many of whom have their own company policies for shoppers. He also required masks to be work inside of state government buildings.
Some cities have also chosen to continue to implement their own mask orders. By August last year, more than 40% of the state’s residents lived somewhere with some sort of mask requirement. Since, though, many towns have let their mask requirements lapse, while others have kept the requirements up. Residents should check their local government information sites for details on whether they are subject to local mask rules.
In mid-December, the Columbia City Council extended their local mask requirement until mid-February. The order requires masks to be worn in all public places within the city and inside all commercial establishments. Lexington town officials voted to pass a mask requirement in retailers that will last until May.
Greenville City Council voted in mid-December to extend their ordinance to mid-February as well. The ordinance requires residents to wear face coverings inside retail establishments.
Charleston renewed its mask requirements in retailers and public places Jan. 12.
