Members of the Cayce City Council unanimously adopted an emergency face covering ordinance at theCity Council Meeting, Tuesday.

As a result of the increase in the COVID-19 cases nationwide and at the request of our local hospital, Lexington Medical Center, an emergency face covering ordinance will go into effect at 6 a.m. on Friday in the City of Cayce.

Lexington Medical Center indicated in their recent correspondence that its ability to provide the best health care services is “in peril due to overwhelming number of COVID-related hospitalizations” and requested that the City reinstate mask mandates to help prevent the spread of this disease.

The Emergency Ordinance requires that anyone over two years old or anyone with a disability who cannot wear a face covering for reasons related to the disability that is entering a building or structure in the City that is open to the general public wear a face covering while inside.

Additional exclusions are provided for anyone seated in a restaurant, anyone engaged in exercise inside of a fitness center or studio; or anyone who is unable to safely wear a face covering due to age, an underlying health condition, religious reasons, or is unable to remove the face covering without assistance. Under this provision, a school or daycare facility is not “a building or structure in the City open to the general public.”

Mayor Elise Partin stated, “With only roughly 4 out of every 10 people in a room in SC vaccinated, we are stuck in the same place we were last year, and maybe even worse. The hospital is pleading with us to mask up until we get more people vaccinated. Thank you for masking up and getting vaccinated to support our businesses to keep them safely open and to support our hospitals and all those who take care of us when we need them.”

Over the past week, the City of Cayce has reached out to business owners and churches across the City. While not everyone agreed with the reinstatement of a mask requirement, many of our businesses and churches have already implemented one in their private businesses. The majority of these businesses agree that masks are needed in public indoor spaces. One local leader stated, “I am in full support of requiring masks… Loving our neighbor means protecting each other from this dire illness.”

FACTS & BACKGROUND: COVID-19 IN SOUTH CAROLINA:

• Lexington County has a high rate of COVID-19 transmissions, which is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as more than 100 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven

days. A high rate of coronavirus transmission means people in both counties are now encouraged to wear face masks indoors in public settings — regardless of whether they are vaccinated – by the Center for Disease Control and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

• As of September 7, 2021, the total number of confirmed cases in South Carolina is approximately 773,000 and the number of confirmed deaths is 10,972. Nationally, less than 1% of all COVID-related deaths have been “breakthrough” cases; meaning, the person was fully vaccinated.

• On July 30, 2021, Lexington County reported 173 new COVID-19 cases. On August 30, 2021, one month later, Lexington County reported 1,127 new COVID 19 cases. In data just released today, between September 2 – 5 more than 20,000 South Carolinians were infected with COVID-19 and 193 people died.