City of Bishopville extends mask mandate; Lee County, city are only agencies requiring masks in tri-county

As coronavirus cases, fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant, continue to affect cities across the state, Bishopville City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to extend its mask ordinance for another 60 days, with Councilman Edward Byrd absent.

The current ordinance, which was set to expire on Feb. 20, requires residents to wear masks in restaurants, retail stores and business establishments within the city to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Business owners are also asked to place signs at their businesses to promote wearing face coverings.

Council members said with the continuous nature of the pandemic, it would be ideal to keep the ordinance in place to protect everyone's health in the community.

"There's an old saying, 'If it's not broken, why fix it,'" said Mayor Grady Brown Sr., referring to the mask ordinance.

Brown Sr. said council wanted to do everything in its power to bring awareness to the ongoing pandemic. He said they choose to have an ordinance instead of a mask resolution - which only suggests people wear masks - so that it could be mandated with consequence to show the effectiveness and seriousness of wearing a mask. There is a $25 fine for anyone not wearing a mask where it is required, officials said.

City Administrator Gregg McCutchen said they haven't had any problems with people not wearing masks since they reestablished the ordinance in August 2021. The reason for the compliance, he said, was because more people have been making a habit of wearing their masks like "wearing seatbelts and helmets" for routine safety.

The city extended the mandate again after Lee County Council's vote in mid-January to implement a revised emergency ordinance, which originally expired in May 2021, for 60 days to curb the spread of COVID-19. The county's ordinance now will last until mid-March while the city's expires in early April. Both councils will have to decide again, before the expiration date, if they want to extend the emergency ordinances.

The City of Bishopville is the only municipality in the tri-county to have a mask mandate. Others - the City of Sumter, Sumter County, the City of Manning and Clarendon County - have either passed mask resolutions encouraging people to wear face coverings or let their mask ordinance expire.

Numerous vaccine clinics have been held in Bishopville and Lee County since last year and in January to get more residents vaccinated; vaccination numbers are still low in the area.

According to state Department of Health and Environmental Control data updated on Monday, 53% of Lee County residents have gotten one dose of the vaccine while 46% have gotten fully vaccinated, compared to 53% who are fully vaccinated in the state.

In the county, 88 people have died from COVID-19 and 4,086 have tested positive for the virus in the county.