10,000 dead and counting in SC. Will Gov. McMaster learn from COVID-19 mistakes?

How many more mistakes does South Carolina have to make before we gain some wisdom?

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Wednesday that more than 10,000 residents have now died thanks to COVID-19.

Thousands more have been infected and faced illness or long-term hospitalizations. Many will suffer from the effects of the virus long after they leave the hospital.

Gov. Henry McMaster has had plenty of opportunities to learn from his mistakes. He need only look to his fellow governors to know what’s coming.

In Texas, for instance, Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Texas Hospital Association “to voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures, for which a delay will not result in loss of life or the deterioration of a patient’s condition, in order to increase hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients.”

Abbott is also asking the Texas Department of State Health Services to use staffing agencies to provide medical personnel from outside the state to assist in COVID-19 operations.

Abbott, who like McMaster opposes mask mandates in schools, knows his state has a problem.

South Carolina has a problem, too.

Just 45 percent of our residents are fully vaccinated. Hospitals are seeing serious increases in the number of COVID patients as the highly-infectious delta variant spreads. Intensive care units are filling up fast. Cities like Charleston are now requiring face coverings inside city buildings. Columbia Mayor Steven Benjamin has declared a state of emergency and is requiring masks in schools, despite state officials threatening legal action because they believe the mandate violates state law. And, yes, even Columbia’s Oktoberfest has been canceled.

Imagine that. Even the Oktoberfest organizers recognize we have a problem.

The governor and the Legislature need to recognize it, too, and admit that telling people to do the right thing has never been enough.

Let local officials do what they can to save lives in their communities. Masks, vaccines, and social distancing are part of a comprehensive strategy to save lives and eliminating the mask option does nothing but prolong this pandemic and cause preventable pain and suffering.

It’s well past time for Gov. McMaster to wise up.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 11:25 AM.