The city of Chester will enforce mask ordinance starting Tuesday. How will it work?

Enforcement of an emergency ordinance requiring face masks in the city of Chester will go into effect Tuesday.

The ordinance will apply only within the limits of the city of Chester. Face masks will be required in public places due to the increase in cases of COVID-19. This includes all indoor public places, including but not limited to restaurants, barber shops and grocery stores. Religious establishments are exempt.

All employees of “public establishments and public or commercial transportation,” will be required to wear face coverings as well.

Masks also will be required when outdoors -- if it’s not possible to maintain social distancing guidelines of six feet between each person.

Children younger than age two are exempt.

Individuals who cannot wear a mask due to medical reasons, a mental health condition, a developmental condition or the inability to remove the mask on their own also are exempt, according to a letter distributed by City Administrator Stephanie Jackson.

Violators can be fined up to $500 and face jail time up to 30 days, according to Jackson.

Those who cannot afford masks should consider contacting the Chester Police Department, Mayor Wanda Stringfellow told the Herald. The police department has 100 masks to distribute and they will be given out on a “first-come, first-served” basis.

Those who know someone is elderly or immunocompromised and would like a mask can contact Public Information Officer Randall Marsh or Spokesperson for the Chester Police Department Makeesharia Tobias, Stringfellow said.

The Chester City Council voted to pass the ordinance last week, following South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s June 24 statement that cities and counties have the authority under Home Rule to require residents to wear face masks while in public.

The ordinance text cites COVID-19 cases in Chester, the statewide occupation of hospital beds and the advice of the CDC as the reasons behind requiring masks.

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control currently reports 230 confirmed cases in Chester, with estimated cases at 1,413.

Chester County Council Chairman Shane Stuart said the county has not yet made a decision on a mask ordinance. He said there hasn’t been a lot of interest in an ordinance, though the county council continues to encourage residents to wear masks.

“I hope it won’t hurt businesses that are already struggling to open,” Stuart told the Herald last week, “But I understand it.”

In a phone interview, Councilwoman Angela Douglas said she hoped the city ordinance would nudge the county in the right direction. The city of Chester is only 3.3 square miles within 587-square-mile Chester County, she said.

Chester’s ordinance follows nearby Columbia, Greenville and most recently Rock Hill.

This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 3:49 PM.