Horry County Council holds emergency meeting, decides on mandatory face masks
Face masks are now required in certain Horry County businesses after council held an emergency meeting Friday evening.
Horry County Council voted in favor of a mandatory face mask ordinance to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Effective immediately, residents and visitors will be required to wear face coverings in public places including retail establishments, restaurants, hair and nail salons, barbershops and tattoo parlors.
Exemptions include those who cannot safely wear a face covering due to age or health conditions, anyone who cannot remove the face covering without assistance, and those whose religious beliefs prevent them from wearing a mask.
Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner said a new state of emergency was required to to approve such an ordinance, which passed in an 8-4 vote conducted remotely. The vote happened after about an hour of spirited debate over a mask law it was enforceable and whether it was needed in the rural parts of the county.
Gardner, Harold Worley, Bill Howard, Dennis DiSabato, Gary Loftus, Tyler Servant, Cam Crawford and Orton Bellamy voted in favor of the ordinance.
DiSabato said he’s heard from dozens of residents who wanted a mask ordinance pass and only one who didn’t.
“They’re not happy with a lack of action,” he said.
Johnny Vaught, W. Paul Prince, Danny Hardee and Al Allen voted against the measure. Prince, Hardee and Allen represent the more rural parts of Horry County.
Vaught was concerned the ordinance couldn’t effectively be enforced and Crawford didn’t like the idea of fining people. The ordinance states that anyone violating the ordinance will be fined $25 for the first offense, $50 for a second and $100 for a third.
“It’s a ghost of a law,” Vaught said, arguing that we don’t have enough police to effectively enforce the ordinance.
A couple amendments were discussed, including the idea of changing the wording to make it more of a recommendation rather than a mandate. However, the idea was nearly completely scrapped when Worley brought up the fact that an ordinance with “no teeth” wasn’t worth passing.
“I’m gonna support this,” Worley said earlier in the meeting. “I don’t like doing it, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”
The ordinance is set to expire in 60 days.
The vote follows the City of Myrtle Beach, City of North Myrtle Beach and Georgetown County’s decision to mandate face mask ordinances.
COVID-19 cases continue to climb daily, with most days newly announced cases being in the triple digits. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 236 new cases in Horry County Friday -- a record-high number of cases announced in a single day.
The latest announcement brings the total number of positive cases in the county to 3,963. There have been 49 deaths due to the virus in the county, DHEC reports.
This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 6:59 PM.
