Georgetown County rules on beaches, allows prohibition on hotel reservations to expire
Georgetown County will reopen public beach accesses and adjacent public parking lots at noon on Friday, as will the town of Pawleys Island as areas along the Grand Strand continue to rescind restrictions enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Georgetown County Council voted Tuesday to reopen beaches, and Pawleys Island Town Council voted Monday to also reopen beaches on Friday if the Georgetown County Council passed its vote.
By virtue of inaction Tuesday, hotels and short-term rental businesses in unincorporated Georgetown County are scheduled to reopen to reservations on Friday, county spokesperson Jackie Broach said.
On March 27, Georgetown County Council instituted an ordinance to close reservations at all hotels, campgrounds and rental businesses such as Airbnb and VRBO in all unincorporated areas of the county through April. Because the ordinance expires Thursday and was not extended, check-ins will be allowed.
Pawleys Island Town Council also voted Monday to continue to ban hotel and short-term rental reservations through May 14, expecting Georgetown County to also continue to ban the reservations, according to Pawleys Island Police Chief Michael Fanning. But the town council has called a special virtual meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday to consider moving the reopening of the town’s accommodations providers up to May 8.
The Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, Veterans Pier and Jetty View Walkway are scheduled to remain closed until May 15, however, per a Georgetown County Council order on April 21.
Horry County, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach opened their public beach accesses and adjacent parking areas last week, while Myrtle Beach voted to allow its beach accesses and affiliated parking to reopen Tuesday.
On April 20, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster canceled a March 30 executive order that closed all public access to the beaches of South Carolina, giving local jurisdictions the authority to enact their own rules regarding beaches.
Horry County, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach will reopen hotels and short-term rentals on Friday, and Myrtle Beach City Council will vote Thursday on whether to reopen accommodations on Friday.
An order by McMaster on April 3 restricts reservations from those living in areas with a heavy concentration of the coronavirus, such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Orleans, and those restrictions remain in place.
Georgetown County has 40 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and two deaths as of Tuesday, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
There are 211 positive COVID-19 cases in Horry County, including 15 deaths as of Tuesday. In South Carolina, there are 5,735 confirmed cases and 192 deaths.
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 9:31 PM.
