Are businesses following COVID-19 guidelines? You may soon be able to tell with a sticker
Knowing which restaurants and businesses are taking coronavirus recommendations to heart could become a lot easier in the coming weeks as more and more visitors flock to the Myrtle Beach area.
Visitors coming to the Grand Strand and locals could start to see stickers indicating which businesses pledged to follow public health recommendations that could slow the spread of the coronavirus.
On Thursday, tourism and government leaders discussed adopting a program that would allow Grand Strand businesses to pledge that they will follow specific recommendations inside their business.
Once the pledge is made, the business will get a sticker showing the public that recommendations are followed inside. Businesses in Horry, Georgetown and Brunswick counties could be eligible for the program both in cities and unincorporated areas.
“It really relieves the uncertainty that guests might have visiting our area and our locals alike,” Horry County Council Member Tyler Servant said. “I think this is something we can move quickly on.”
While the plans are not official, members of Horry County’s Welcome Back committee voiced support for the idea.
Horry County Assistant Administrator Barry Spivey said money from last year’s accommodation tax could be used to help fund this and other programs from the Welcome Back committee.
The pledge concept local leaders hope to follow originated in Greenville. The program there requires businesses to monitor employee health, encourage everyone to wear masks, frequently clean surfaces and promote social distancing at all times.
A link to the “Greater Greenville Pledge” can be found on the City of Greenville’s website.
Once the pledge is taken, the sticker can be displayed in a window similar to a program the Department of Health and Environmental Control does after a restaurant gets a great sanitation score.
Leaders from both the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce agreed the program is doable and could help customers feel confident supporting various businesses.
The chambers will fine tune the idea moving forward to make sure it works for the Grand Strand area. While the pledge will be open to chamber members, membership will not be a requirement to get a sticker.
“We’re really supportive of the idea and already have members of my team looking at the Greenville Pledge,” Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Karen Riordan said. “We’re excited to take the next steps.”
