The debate: York County residents make cases for and (mostly) against a mask mandate.
York County residents who turned out Monday night had strong opinions on whether the county should have a mask requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
York County Council voted against a mask requirement. The crowd gathered there ahead of that vote mostly agreed.
There were voices in support of a mandate. Councilman William “Bump” Roddey spearheaded the effort to get a mask mandate decision on a council agenda. He said he believes there are plenty of people who want a mask requirement.
Roddey referenced stacks of emails, with 49 in favor of a requirement compared to 24 against. As for the people who showed up in person, those ratios more than flipped.
Against a mask rule
Fort Mill business owner Caitlin Boyle told council a mask requirement would mean a decision that group doesn’t have the right to make.
“You are making a medical decision for both individuals and businesses,” she said.
She noted only one council member wore a mask as the meeting started Monday night. Boyle said a mask ordinance also isn’t a good use of sheriff’s office time and resources.
“A mask mandate is a slippery slope that we may not be able to crawl back from,” she said.
Candace Wallat from Rock Hill took issue with the numbers. She said people were at the meeting Monday because of fear and panic. Wallat said there are incentives to get tested, presumptive positive cases and multiple positives with retests for the same patient.
“There are false positives, faulty tests all over the globe and faulty reporting,” Wallat said.
Laura Tabackman from Fort Mill also took issue with COVID-19 statistics.
“The deaths from this virus have been over-counted,” she said.
A patient with late stage cancer who has the coronavirus dies and is counted as a coronavirus death, she said. Tabackman said masks don’t work, that the virus is too small for them, and that it isn’t the county’s place to enforce health mandates.
“Health is an individual responsibility,” she said, “not the government’s.”
Fort Mill area resident Heather Cromwell points to different numbers. She said more than 99% of the county hasn’t contracted coronavirus. The positive cases that are there she said, could come from multiple positives from the same person or from people who tested for other reasons without symptoms.
“There’s no way to trust these numbers,” Cromwell said.
The issue started as social distancing for a couple of weeks. Cromwell asked what it will be after just masks, perhaps just a mandatory vaccine or chip.
“It’s my right and my freedom to make the choice for myself,” she said.
Rock Hill resident Robert Sweet said he is a retired surgeon who didn’t intend to speak Monday on a mask ordinance, but offered his opinion along with the anti-mask rule crowd.
“They’re all correct in what they say,” Sweet said. “And anyone who looks at this in any depth will agree with them.”
For Rock Hill resident Brandon Guffey, businesses should make decisions on what is required inside them.
“I am not for it,” Guffey said. “I believe the individual businesses should be able to make that decision themselves.”
Scott Hesterman from Clover said he is against a mask rule.
“My choice, not yours,” he said.
Hesterman was more concerned with the mask rule as it was written. He said it wasn’t clear and enforceable.
“Intent does not matter,” Hesterman said. “Words and legal definition do.”
Vickie Atkinson from Fort Mill said it isn’t the county’s role to require masks.
“I do not expect my government to take care of me and keep me safe,” she said. “That’s not your job.”
A county mandate would’ve overruled Gov. Henry McMaster, she said, who said a statewide ban in unenforceable. McMaster has said local authorities are the better ones to set any potential mask rules.
“You can’t believe these numbers,” Atkinson said. “These numbers are ridiculous, and they’re not true.”
Tracy Osborne from Rock Hill said she heard of someone who died in a motorcycle wreck in Florida, but was listed as a COVID-19 death.
“You can’t really depend on these numbers,” Osborne said.
“That’s just inaccuracy, really, but that’s what’s happening.”
Osborne said the numbers given for coronavirus cases thus far are comparable to annual flu rates.
“I can’t see that these numbers support a mask mandate,” she said.
Terisa Brakefield from Rock Hill said people concerned about coronavirus still have choice.
“If you’re immune compromised, stay home,” she said. “You can get your groceries delivered now. There’s no reason for you to come out.”
Brakefield said she wouldn’t be expected to go to doctor appointments with anyone else, or tell someone else whether to eat fast food.
“Their health is their business,” she said. “It’s not up to me to make sure that they are healthy.”
For a mask ordinance
Mary and Ray Williams from Lake Wylie supported a countywide mask ordinance. Mary Williams said cases are on the rise in York County.
“What we don’t know is downright scary,” she said. “COVID is a national and state emergency.”
Unincorporated areas like Lake Wylie — the Baxter and Carowinds areas in Fort Mill are others — rely on York County since they don’t have town or city councils of their own, she said. Ray Williams said places like Europe are putting a stop to the spread and reopening after taking action on the threat.
“This disease, this virus, this plague — is actually real,” he said.
Williams doesn’t see the same here as in Europe.
“They’re going in the opposite direction as we are,” he said.
There are many political issues that come before council, Ray Williams said, but mask usage isn’t one of them. That issue is a life and death one, he said.
“Come on, and get a life,” he said of the infringed liberties arguments. “And don’t take mine.”
Erik Abrams said he works in Fort Mill, and disagrees with the idea government has no place in slowing COVID-19 spread.
“There remains a lot of confusion, and we need our government leadership to step in to help ensure the safety of our citizens,” Abrams said.
He also disagrees with the notion that individual businesses should decide for themselves when and where masks are mandated.
“Businesses have a financial disincentive to not turn customers away,” Abrams said.
For something this widespread, he said, government is needed to act which will get lives and the economy back not normal quicker. Which would lead, Abrams said, to the return of many liberties people want.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 9:27 AM.
