Area governing bodies should recognize realities of coronavirus, urge vaccinations

Municipal governments in the cities of Conway, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach were more pro-active – and thereby effective -‑ in combating the coronavirus than was the Horry County Council, but all local governments wrestled with a conundrum.

With a regional economy largely driven by tourism, leaders naturally saw a conflict of where to place priorities: Protecting public health or the economy.

Throughout the continuing pandemic – it is not over – necessary restrictions on many businesses deeply hurt the businesses and employees. Here and elsewhere, individuals, business owners and the economy paid a huge price. At the same time, families were devastated by deaths of loved ones, serious illnesses and lingering problems.

LACKLUSTER EFFORTS

The twin prongs of the pandemic, health and economic, were made more difficult to confront by the confounding attitudes of some that the pandemic was a hoax, or not as serious as the science clearly showed, or “nobody can make me wear a mask.” Unfortunately, misinformation continues about the vaccines, as in the false information posted on social media by a county council member.

Many business owners took appropriate action and diligently followed the restrictions imposed by the governor on restaurants, even as requirements were eased. After the Horry County Council refused to extend its mask requirement, some retailers continued to ask shoppers to wear masks.

When the county mandate was in place, some eateries made little effort on compliance beyond posting a modest notice on the door. In those situations, enforcement was a problem, meaning it was uneven from one place to another.

The county’s face covering mandate applied to unincorporated areas such as Carolina Forest and Little River. When the county council ended the mandate in October, businesses and customers in the city of Myrtle Beach had a mandate, those in Carolina Forest did not. Same uneven situation in North Myrtle Beach and unincorporated Little River.

‘NOT ENOUGH’

Gary Loftus was in the minority of county council members who tried to extend the mandate. Loftus continues to feel “… the county was not forceful enough [and] didn’t go far enough.” A report by J. Dale Shoemaker and Maya Brown also quoted representatives Bill Howard and Johnny Vaught. The latter still maintains of the county’s mask mandate, “It was a paper tiger, we couldn’t enforce it.”

The fact is, the cities did not enforce the mandates to the extent Vaught suggests. Police officers were not seen patrolling North Myrtle Beach (one example) supermarkets. Some shoppers wore masks – and continue to wear them. Little River shoppers also continue to wear masks where requested.

Vaught and others on the county council continue to use “enforcement” as a talking point. Vaught told The Sun News: “We didn’t have the manpower, it wasn’t enforceable for us to do that. I don’t think that’s our job. You can tell people to wear a mask but don’t criminalize them.”

“It is terrible and it is tyranny to try to slide something like this over the people of Horry County,” Aynor area member Al Allen said of the procedure Council Chairman Johnny Gardner used to automatically renew the mandate after 60 days.

MISINFORMATION

In February, Allen posted on Facebook about the vaccines, passing on false information. He told followers they could be harmed by the vaccines. His misinformation was from a website.

The United States has a long history of anti-intellectualism. That partly explains the denial and rejection of science, including misguided viewpoints about vaccinations.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 540 Horry County residents. Nearly 36,000 have had the virus. COVID-19 cases and deaths fell when the Horry mandate was in place. More of the deaths occurred in the four-and-a-half months since council repealed its mask mandate than in the previous seven-and-a-half months of 2020.

Part of the problem is seeing the numbers decline, and too many people throwing out caution. States and local governing bodies have done that, apparently not having learned from 2020. Obviously, people are tired of being cautious.

Elected officials, including Gov. Henry McMaster, have rightly encouraged people to have the vaccines. City and county councils should endorse the vaccines and encourage all to have the shots when they are eligible. Horry County Council should reject Allen’s outrageous social media posts and censure him.