By VICKI BROWN
City of Walterboro Mayor Bill Young issued a statement on Monday May 17, 2021, regarding the mask ordinance in Colleton County.
“Governor McMaster’s directive regarding local government mask mandates terminated the city’s mask ordinance. It is no longer in effect. City council is expected to formally rescind the ordinance at its June meeting. While the ordinance is no longer in effect, businesses may still legally require individuals to wear masks while on their premises,” said Mayor Young.
Gov. Henry McMaster ordered an immediate end to mask mandates in South Carolina, saying the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines means governments should stop dictating when and where people cover their face.
The May 11 order ends any local COVID-19 restrictions from his previous pandemic emergency declarations. He has instructed city and county governments rewrite their own ordinances and follow his directives.
“With the COVID-19 vaccine readily available and case numbers dropping, I will not allow local governments to use the state of emergency declaration as a reason for implementing or maintaining mask mandates,” McMaster said. “Everybody knows what we need to do to stay safe, including wearing a mask if you’re at risk of exposing others. But we must move past the time of governments dictating when and where South Carolinians are required to wear a mask,” he continued. “Maintaining the status quo ignores all of the great progress we’ve made,” the governor added.
Mayor Young’s announcement comes a little over a year after the City’s first mask ordinance went into effect.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a world-wide pandemic. On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency for the U.S. and on March 13, Governor McMaster declared a state of emergency for S.C. On March 25, 2020, Mayor Bill Young declared a state of emergency for the city of Walterboro. In December, City Council members voted to extend the mask ordinance until they terminated it instead of revisiting the ordinance every 60 days. This ordinance went into effect on December 31, 2020.
The Mayor rescinded the mask ordinance on Monday following the Governor’s mandate. It is expected that City Council members will vote to terminate the ordinance in June.
Mayor Young feels that this is the right time to move on, but he is still concerned for those citizens still vulnerable to Covid. “Let’s all get our vaccinations and keep everyone safe,” said Young.
