Coronavirus comeback: Public beach access to reopen by ‘end of next week,’ SC senator says
South Carolina’s beaches are on the verge of reopening.
The public beaches will be reopened beginning next week, according to South Carolina state senator Stephen Goldfinch. The beach accesses previously were closed due to social distancing issues amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Goldfinch said he learned of the news from the S.C. Governor’s Office on Saturday, though several details are still being worked out.
“I don’t have all the information yet. I’m not sure the Governor’s Office does either from what I can tell from talking with them,” Goldfinch said. “There may be some exceptions for beach accesses controlled by municipalities, but I’m not positive on that yet.”
Goldfinch said he wasn’t sure of the specific day as to when the beach accesses will reopen, but said his understanding was that they would be open “by the end of next week.”
Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, a Murrells Inlet resident, represents District 34, which includes Charleston, Georgetown and Horry counties.
As of Saturday, there had been no official word from S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, who made an executive order to close all public beach accesses on March 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Private beach accesses have remained open.
Though McMaster did not mention beach access, he did tweet Saturday evening that he’d spoken with other southeastern governors about reopening states.
“We discussed each state’s plans to safely get folks back into the workplace. Told them South Carolina was ready,” his tweet reads.
The closure of public beach access came a little more than a week after more than 100 college students flooded the beach in Myrtle Beach on March 19 looking to have a good time, dismissing any panic currently ensuing.
The number of coronavirus cases in Horry County and the Myrtle Beach area continued to rise Saturday, with nine additional cases and two more deaths reported.
The county’s total rose to 176 cases, up from 167 on Friday. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control released the latest data on Sunday afternoon.
There were two new deaths in Horry County as the total increased to 12. Both of those individuals were elderly people with underlying health conditions.
Georgetown County had 32 total cases and two deaths as of Saturday.
In South Carolina, there were 165 new COVID-19 cases Saturday with three deaths, bringing the totals to 4,246 cases and 119 deaths.
The state remains under a “work or home” order that Gov. Henry McMaster issued earlier last week, though the fact boat ramps reopened Friday showed a glimmer of getting back to normal. Health officials also continue to stress the importance of social distancing and handwashing to help slow the spread of the disease.
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
