Mask up, North Myrtle Beach: Mandate, state of emergency extended 60 days
Like it or not, masks aren’t leaving North Myrtle Beach any time soon.
North Myrtle Beach city council voted unanimously to extend the local state of emergency, which means its mask requirement will last another 60 days. At a particularly raucous meeting in October where supporters and adversaries to the mask mandate butted heads, council voted to tie the mask order to the city’s local state of emergency.
In contrast to an active meeting to extend the ordinance in October, no one from the public spoke during the public comment period of the council meeting. City council didn’t discuss the emergency declaration before unanimously extending it.
The city also recently canceled certain holiday events that were expected to draw crowds as an effort to minimize the spread of the virus.
Coronavirus cases in Horry County are on the rise as the holiday season begins in full force. The county has recorded more than 13,700 COVID-19 cases and 231 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Wednesday’s daily caseload was the highest Horry County has seen since July as the county added 142 cases to its overall count. Of Horry County’s cases, more than 1,000 occurred in the 29582 zip code, which covers North Myrtle Beach.
Enforcement and criticism
North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley said extending the ordinance was the right call for the health and safety of the community through the public health crisis. Like other local municipalities, North Myrtle Beach has been questioned about how enforcement of the order works.
“We’re handling it like we do most of our lives,” Hatley told The Sun News after Wednesday’s vote. “When we get complaints, we go and talk to the [business] owners and tell them we got complaints.”
Hatley said the city only got a few phone calls about the ordinance in comparison to the dozens of residents who showed out to the October meeting opposing the order. When asked what she had to say to them, Hatley simply said everyone has the right to their opinion and the public meetings are in place for people to express their opinions.
She added that the second time a complaint comes in against a business, the city will usually issue a warning, followed by a ticket and fine after the third complaint. Officers have the ability to issue a ticket whenever they see a business not complying, Hatley said.
“This law isn’t about writing tickets,” she said, adding that she appreciates the businesses who do follow the order and that the ones that don’t are few and far between. “This law is about the health and safety of our community.”
Rules of the mask order
In North Myrtle Beach, the details of the mask requirement vary slightly from other municipalities, like Myrtle Beach, which extended its mandate this week. Unincorporated areas of Horry County aren’t currently under a mask requirement.
Here’s what you need to know about the North Myrtle Beach rules:
- Masks are required in most public places, like retail businesses, salons and grocery stores.
- Businesses are responsible for requiring their employees to wear face coverings, but they aren’t responsible for enforcing the mask mandate for patrons. Businesses should display signs notifying people of the requirement.
- Citizens in violation of the order can be fined up to $25 for a civil infraction.
- Businesses can be fined up to $100 per day if they don’t require their employees to cover their faces.
- Some exemptions apply: People who have health conditions or religious beliefs prohibiting masks are exempt, as are people who can’t remove their own mask.
The different rules in the area can get confusing. Here’s a guide to keep up.
