Rock Hill to consider mask requirement in public amid COVID-19 pandemic. Will it pass?
Rock Hill city officials will consider a mask requirement amid the coronavirus pandemic at an emergency meeting Monday, according to officials and an agenda.
City council will meet at 10 a.m. Monday to vote on the emergency ordinance that would require residents wear a face mask in public places within city limits, according to the agenda.
Masks would be required in food and retail establishments, including grocery stores and pharmacies, according to the ordinance proposal. If passed, the emergency measure would last no longer than 60 days, according to the proposal.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster encouraged local municipalities at a press conference this week to enforce mask or social distancing requirements, although he still dismissed the idea of implementing a statewide mandate. He said last week that requiring South Carolinians to wear a mask would be “impossible” to enforce.
“I urge the cities, I urge the municipalities — there’s 271 of them in South Carolina — a handful have issued certain mask rules, distance rules and they’ve applied penalties,” McMaster said. “I encourage them. They know their local situation. They know their local customers. They know their people. They know the business establishments...A careful consideration of restrictions is entirely appropriate.”
If the Rock Hill City Council were to pass a mask rule, the city would be the first municipality in York County to pass a requirement that people wear masks in public.
Rock Hill City council member Nikita Jackson said she expects the measure requiring masks to pass on Monday.
“I have supported a mask requirement and now that we have a special called meeting about it, I believe we have the votes to pass it,” Jackson said
York County Council member William “Bump” Roddey has pushed for a countywide mask mandate in public places, and has asked towns and cities inside York County to consider adopting something similar. Jackson said she also hopes that York County officials will take up a similar measure for unincorporated areas of the county.
“This is a serious health issue for our people in Rock Hill and York County, and we as leaders have to act on this issue,” Jackson said.
Rock Hill Mayor Gettys has said since the start of the pandemic that masks are essential in mitigating the spread of the virus and told The Herald last week he would be in favor of a mask requirement in public as cases in the city continue to rise.
“If the county does not take this up, or delays unnecessarily in taking this up, or takes it up and it doesn’t pass, then I do think that the city will step in and we’ll do what needs to be done,” Gettys told The Herald last week.
The city of Chester was the first municipality in the area to enact a mask requirement. On Monday, the city council members voted to pass a citywide ordinance requiring people wear face masks in public.
The city of York plans to discuss a similar mask requirement Tuesday at its council meeting.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
