4 York, Chester SC towns had COVID-19 mask mandates. How many tickets have been issued?
Four municipalities in York and Chester counties in South Carolina have had face mask requirements during the coronavirus pandemic with a potential fine penalty for non-compliance.
Yet, not a single ticket or citation has been issued by any law enforcement agency in the counties, police officials said.
Mandates in Rock Hill, York and Chester that required masks in public places to combat spread of the virus are still in place. A mask requirement had been in effect in Fort Mill, but it ended last week.
Chester City Council was the first in the area to pass a mask requirement in early July. Since then, Chester police officers have spoken with several residents or visitors who did not have a mask as required, but none of those confrontations ended with a ticket, said Chester Police Department Chief Eric Williams.
“We have had occasions where we talked to people who were not wearing a mask where it was required,” Williams said. “Those individuals either put on a mask to meet the requirement, or made the decision to leave the public place. We have not had any reason up to now to issue any citations for violation of the ordinance.”
No citations were issued in Fort Mill before the mask mandate ended, police said.
Police in York established a policy to document warnings when officers found people not complying with the rule before any tickets would be issued, Capt. Brian Trail said. No tickets have been given, Trail said.
The police department has not had any calls complaining that people in stores or businesses were violating the policy, Trail said.
Rock Hill police have not issued any citations, said Lt. Michael Chavis. The department issued a statement when the city’s mask mandate took effect in July, establishing that officers would seek voluntary compliance in all cases and were not seeking to write any tickets.
Rock Hill officers have responded to 24 calls for service about the mask ordinance since it began, Chavis said. No formal warnings or tickets were given. Many were questions about the rules, Chavis said.
“We had questions about where the rules applied in public places or private areas such as a community pool,” Chavis said. “All of the calls were handled without any formal action.”
Rock Hill City council member Nikita Jackson, the first proponent of a citywide mask requirement for York County’s largest city, said the mask mandate has shown to be working as positive cases have dropped in the past two weeks.
On Wednesday, the county added its fewest daily coronavirus cases in two months, with 18 cases. Emergency management officials said the county is “heading in the right direction,” and the county’s positive test rate — the percent of people who test positive for the virus — is also trending down.
“Our numbers are down, and I firmly believe one of the reasons is, we, in Rock Hill have a mask mandate,” Jackson said. “New cases are lower now than at any time since May and early June.”
Additionally, DHEC released new data last week that shows local mask requirements are curbing the spread of coronavirus.
According to DHEC’s report, areas with mask rules have had, on average, a 15.1% decrease in the total number of cases reported in the four weeks after the requirement was enacted. Those areas had an overall decrease of 34.6 cases per 100,000 people, DHEC officials said.
However, areas without mask rules have had, on average, a 30% increase in the total number of cases. Those areas had an overall increase of 24.1 cases per 100,000 people, officials said.
Residents’ acceptance of the mask requirement has helped, and the fact that no tickets have been required is a good measure of that acceptance, Jackson said.
“What we have seen is a voluntary compliance with this mandate,” Jackson said. “That’s a good thing for the people of Rock Hill and for public health and safety.”
Jackson said she will push for Rock Hill’s mask mandate, which expires in September, to be extended.
“This pandemic is not over and a safety measure, such as the mask mandate, can help guide us through until that time,” Jackson said.
The unincorporated areas of York and Chester counties do not have mask requirements. County councils in York, Chester and Lancaster counties publicly discussed a mask mandate at meetings in July and August, but the councils acted to do no more than recommend masks in public.
