Coronavirus live updates for Dec. 9: Horry resists mask mandate amid summer-like surge
Coronavirus cases grew by 142 Wednesday as Horry County’s spike mirror the summer months, state health officials announced.
Horry County’s cases have been parallel to the area’s coronavirus spread during the summer months, when Horry routinely added triple-digit case numbers daily. Projections for the winter warn of a return of summer levels of infections, and health experts warn against holiday travel and gatherings.
The county has seen 14,788 cases and 235 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. In Horry County, just 66 hospital beds are available as occupancy reaches 90.3 percent.
Like local economies across the country, Myrtle Beach and Horry County’s finances took a serious hit during the pandemic. The impacts of that are starting to come into focus, thanks to financial reports from the city, county and state, but COVID-19 and an ongoing court case between the two entities leave question marks as the pandemic drags on.
Horry County ‘strongly recommends’ masks, no mandate
In lieu of a mandate requiring people to wear face coverings in government buildings, grocery stores and other businesses, Horry County Council instead adopted a resolution on Tuesday that “strongly recommends and urges” people to follow state and federal guidelines pertaining to COVID-19 prevention.
The resolution passed 10-1 with one member absent and Council member Al Allen, who represents Southwestern Horry County, voting no.
The move comes after months of back and forth among the council on whether or not the county should impose a mandate that everyone wear a face covering when in buildings other than their homes. As cases and deaths of COVID-19 spiked in late June and early July, Horry County Council passed an emergency ordinance that included a face covering mandate. That mandate lasted for 60 days and was automatically renewed in early September. But that automatic renewal rankled some on council, compelling Council Chairman Johnny Gardner to then introduce legislation to repeal the emergency ordinance and face covering mandate. That measure failed, meaning the mandate remained in place, but the council declined to renew it when it expired in October.
Then, in November, some council members staged a last-ditch attempt to have the face covering mandate reinstated, but that effort failed. Horry County has since been without a face covering mandate since the end of October.
The resolution passed Tuesday urges all Horry County residents to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently, regularly sanitize often-touched surfaces and avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth to avoid contracting COVID-19. However, none of those practices will be enforced by the county, and people will have to decide themselves whether or not to follow the recommendations.
Horry County’s decision to not enforce a face covering mandate has led to a patchwork approach to face masks here. The cities of Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Conway all have mask mandates in place, and have routinely voted to keep such measures in place. However, Surfside Beach, Aynor and Loris do not have mask mandates, and people aren’t required to wear a mask in the unincorporated areas of Horry County, which is a majority of the county.
Asked Tuesday night whether or not that approach could lead to confusion, Gardner said no.
“The average citizen here knows where the donut holes are. The average citizen knows what police department he calls, or she calls. They know what they’re doing,” he told reporters. “The average Horry County citizen is well-informed and knows what he’s doing, so I’m not concerned about that.”
Gardner added that while any face covering ordinance or resolution won’t “please everybody,” such measures, whether the county mandates masks or only encourages them, are difficult to enforce. When Horry County’s mask mandate was in place, county police issued no citations to people not complying with the order.
“I don’t think either one will be effective unless the people want to comply with it,” Gardner said. “The people who want to wear their mask are going to wear it. The people who don’t want to wear their mask are not going to wear it unless somebody makes them wear it and therein lies the rub: How do we make people wear their mask?”
Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus in the Myrtle Beach area Dec. 9:
Georgetown County cases reached 2,351 Wednesday and 50 people have died of COVID-19 in the county, DHEC reports. The county extended its mask order into the new year at a Tuesday council meeting.
Hospital bed occupancy in Georgetown County was 91.8% as of Tuesday, meaning 15 hospital beds are free, according to DHEC.
South Carolina COVID-19 cases have grown to 223,140 and the state has recorded 4,280 deaths of the virus. DHEC recorded 10,411 tests Tuesday with a positivity rate of 20.5 percent. The positivity rate should be 5 percent or below, according to health experts.
Wash your hands & wear a mask
This is your daily reminder to wash your hands often, wear a mask and practice social distancing.
DHEC asks people to wear a mask when visiting public places and practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is now mandatory to wear face masks in certain public areas in the City of Myrtle Beach, the City of North Myrtle Beach and Georgetown County.
To get a free DHEC-sponsored test, visit scdhec.gov/findatest for a testing location near you. DHEC testing is free, doesn’t require insurance, and results are available within 72 hours. DHEC’s testing options have expanded to include shallow nasal testing, an oral swab, or a saliva test at different locations.
* Editor’s Note: The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s daily news releases sometimes show case numbers that differ from the department’s map. Officials have said the map is the most accurate source, so the map numbers are cited by The Sun News. DHEC also lists “probable” coronavirus cases and deaths, but because those cases are not confirmed they are not included in The Sun News’ reports.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 1:21 PM.
