More masks? With Delta spreading, here’s what new CDC COVID guidelines mean for Horry
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course this week, recommending fully vaccinated people continue to wear masks indoors in areas seeing significant spread of COVID-19. That includes Horry County.
After instating a mask mandate last summer as the virus spread during tourism season, Horry County hasn’t had a requirement in place since October. Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach dropped their mask ordinances at the end of March as vaccinations became more widely available.
Horry County currently has a “high” level of transmission, under CDC categorization. Counties with “high” or “substantial” spread are subject to the new guidelines, including most counties in South Carolina.
The updated guidance, an about-face from May guidelines that indicated masks weren’t necessary for the vaccinated population, comes as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads in South Carolina and across the country.
Despite having one of the highest vaccination rates in the state at roughly 58% of eligible residents vaccinated, Horry County faces a “high” spread of COVID-19, according to county-level data from the CDC. More than 670 cases were reported in Horry County last week, following several weeks in May and June with fewer than 100 cases.
Local and state doctors have expressed concern about the Delta variant, again imploring people who haven’t gotten their shot to be vaccinated.
“Unvaccinated people are fueling the pandemic, especially unvaccinated young people,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, public health director at DHEC, addressing reporters earlier this month.
Now, the CDC and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control are doubling down on efforts to slow the spread of the noel coronavirus by recommending masks for all people, regardless of vaccination status. Vaccinated people are still protected from the Delta variant, but rare “breakthrough” cases carry a viral load similar to unvaccinated people who have contracted the virus, meaning they can still spread it, according to the CDC.
The new guidelines are merely recommendations, not requirements. And in South Carolina, school districts and local municipalities are prohibited from implementing their own mask mandates under an executive order from Gov. Henry McMaster.
In Horry County, masks became almost taboo even before the CDC announced its stance that vaccinated people can go bare-faced indoors. Various counts by reporters at different locations across the Grand Strand showed that going maskless became more and more common over the course of the pandemic, raising questions about the likelihood that the population will follow the most recent guidance.
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 11:33 AM.
