Coronavirus latest: York cases top 1,500 as municipalities consider mask requirements
Following a record high number of coronavirus cases reported in York County over the weekend, cases in the county continue to surge.
York County added 58 new COVID-19 cases Monday and now has a total of 1,541 cases, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control. On Friday, the county reported 104 new cases, marking the county’s highest increase in daily cases reported to date. The previous high was 59, which was set on June 29.
Across the state, DHEC identified 1,505 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the state’s overall total of infections to 46,247. Officials also reported that an additional six South Carolinians have died as a result of the virus, bringing the state’s death toll to 819.
None of the deaths reported Monday involved individuals from York, Chester or Lancaster counties. However, residents from Lancaster and Chester died as a result of the virus over the weekend.
Lancaster County added 16 cases Monday, for a total of 559 confirmed cases, according to DHEC. Chester County reported five cases and now has a total of 230 cases confirmed since the pandemic started, according to the agency.
Rock Hill enforces mask requirement
Rock Hill City Council passed an emergency ordinance Monday requiring residents wear face masks in public. The city became the first York County municipality to approve a mask requirement during the pandemic, setting the stage for other municipalities across the county to adopt similar mandates.
Rock Hill City Council member Kathy Pender urged York County as a whole to enact a similar mask requirement. Under state law, a county mask mandate would only cover unincorporated areas outside of city and town limits.
York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said Monday after the city’s vote that he is appreciative and encouraged that city leaders did the right thing in a temporary mask mandate for the county’s largest city.
Roddey, the one Democrat on the York County Council, so far is the only York County Council member to push for a requirement countywide for unincorporated areas. Roddey said he plans to ask the six other council members this week about supporting a temporary countywide mask requirement.
York City Council will vote on a similar measure Tuesday night. City Council member Steve Love, who has pushed for a citywide mask requirement, attended the Rock Hill vote Monday and is encouraged that York’s measure can pass Tuesday.
“The number of positive cases has risen dramatically,” Love said. “This mask requirement in public is not to take away anyone’s freedoms or liberties. It is a way to try and protect the safety and health of all residents of our community.”
York’s City Council meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., will be held at city hall and is open to the public. The meeting will also be played on Facebook Live.
Tega Cay encourages masks
On Monday, the City of Tega Cay issued a proclamation strongly encouraging people to wear masks. Mayor David O’Neal issued the proclamation that customers inside enclosed areas, like retail or food service businesses should wear masks except when eating or drinking, and that all retail establishments are strongly urged to require staff to wear face coverings when in contact with other employees or the public.
Face coverings aren’t needed, according to the proclamation, in outdoor or unenclosed areas where social distancing of at least six feet is possible, where religious beliefs prevent people from wearing them, for people who can’t wear them due to medical or behavioral conditions, for children under 12, for restaurant patrons while dining, in private offices, when complying with direction from law enforcement, where it isn’t feasible, like at dental appointments or during exercise, or where there are no other people present.
Coronavirus testing
On Sunday, 7,990 tests were conducted statewide, with 18.8% having positive results, DHEC reported. Since March, labs across the state have completed 482,722 tests.
Hospitals across the state are at about 68% of capacity. Of the 7,377 beds in use across the state on Monday, DHEC officials said 1,260 were occupied by coronavirus patients or those who are suspected of having COVID-19.
South Carolina first surpassed 1,000 beds on Monday.
Hospitals in York County are at 80% capacity, with 229 beds currently in use out of 288, according to DHEC. And Lancaster County hospitals are at about 46% capacity, with 68 beds currently in use out of 149.
Cases by ZIP code
As of Sunday night, there are cases in the following ZIP codes:
York County
▪ 29704 - 20
▪ 29708 - 188
▪ 29710 - 198
▪ 29715 - 197
▪ 29717 - 9
▪ 29730 - 356
▪ 29732 - 343
▪ 29745 - 179
Lancaster County
▪ 29058 - 17
▪ 29067 - 53
▪ 29707 - 105
▪ 29720 - 414
Chester County
▪ 29014 - 16
▪ 29055 - 48
▪ 29706 - 105
▪ 29712 - 14
▪ 29714 - 32
