Here’s how Horry leaders voted on potentially reinstating a COVID-19 mask ordinance

Horry County Council on Tuesday night voted against an effort to reintroduce an emergency ordinance and face mask mandate, even as cases of COVID-19 have risen locally.

The vote was a preliminary tally to re-open debate on an ordinance that would have granted Horry County emergency powers to combat the coronavirus pandemic and would have included a measure to “strongly recommend” all residents wear face coverings in businesses in the unincorporated parts of Horry County.

Both Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach have face mask mandates currently in place due to the pandemic.

If the preliminary vote had received a simple majority, council could have then re-debated the emergency ordinance it originally enacted in July. Council would have needed a super majority, or eight votes, to put the emergency ordinance and face mask mandate back in place.

The preliminary vote, however, failed 8-4. Council members Gary Loftus, Dennis DiSabato, Bill Howard and Harold Worley all voted in favor to re-open debate on the matter. Council members Tyler Servant, Johnny Gardner, Al Allen, Danny Hardee, W. Paul Prince, Johnny Vaught, Orton Bellamy, and Cam Crawford voted against re-opening debate.

The move comes as cases of COVID-19 have been rising in recent weeks, according to data from the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Since early October, Horry County has seen more than 3,000 new cases. Statewide, South Carolina has seen 17,454 new cases in the past two weeks.

And since the county’s face mask mandate was lifted Oct. 31, Horry County has seen 1,140 new cases. DHEC data shows 15 county residents have died in that same time period.

Ahead of the vote, council members voiced their concerns about the increasing number of cases in the county.

“People are concerned about this people are worried about this, they don’t feel safe,” said DiSabato, who represents part of Myrtle Beach. “It’s our job to make sure we do the right thing here.”

Loftus, who represents part of Myrtle Beach, said the county should “get rid of the politics and go with the science.”

Other council members, though, maintained a position that it should not be the county council’s role to mandate face masks.

“I have no problem if a person chooses to wear a mask, but I also believe this: it’s causing a social disconnect,” said Council member Al Allen, who represents Aynor and Western Horry County. “Why not just leave it to the people to make the best decision for themselves?”

Council member Johnny Vaught, who represents Forestbrook and part of Carolina Forest, said any face mask mandate is “not enforceable” by the county.

“I’m not anti-mask, I am anti-mandate,” he said.

Face coverings, first mandated in early July, have been a hot button issue in Horry County for months now.

In early September, after allowing an emergency ordinance that included a face mask mandate to automatically renew, Gardner, the council chairman, said he regretted that decision, and said the council should have had a chance to debate the issue again. So, at the council’s Sept. 15 meeting, Gardner placed legislation on the agenda to end the emergency ordinance and face mask mandate.

That measure failed, meaning the face mask mandate was kept in place.

Then, at its Oct. 20 meeting, council members voted to not renew the emergency ordinance originally enacted in July, allowing the face mask mandate and the rest of the emergency provisions to expire Oct. 30.

That decision rankled several council members who vowed to bring the issue back up at Tuesday’s council meeting. Through a procedural measure — that is, calling for a vote to reconsider the emergency ordinance before council approves the minutes of the last meeting — council members Worley, of North Myrtle Beach, and Loftus, of Myrtle Beach, said they would push for council to reinstate the emergency ordinance.

After the vote to re-open debate failed, several council members asked for action on the mask issue to be taken at council’s next meeting.

Crawford, of Socastee, asked county staff to draft a resolution — which does not carry the weight of law but rather is more like a formal statement — that would “strongly encourage” people visiting retail businesses in unincorporated Horry County to wear a face mask and follow Gov. Henry McMaster’s recommendations regarding COVID-19. The resolution would be sent to business owners in the unincorporated parts of Horry County.

Council members Worley and Howard said they would like council to pass another resolution asking McMaster to instate a statewide mask mandate.

Brian Symmes, a spokesperson for McMaster, said Tuesday night that the governor was not planning to implement such a mandate in the near future.

Howard, who also supported the move to re-enact the mask mandate, said it’s imperative that council take some sort of action.

“I think its our duty to wear the mask,” he said. “Social distance, stay home, it’s just critical that we pass this mask ordinance.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 6:50 PM.