Goose Creek City Council votes down face mask ordinance

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - Goose Creek City Council has voted down an ordinance that would would require citizens to wear a mask.

The vote was 4 to 3 against it.

The ordinance under consideration would have made it mandatory for people to wear a mask for the following conditions:

• When inside any building which is open to the public
• Waiting to enter a building open to the public
• Interacting with other people in outdoor spaces
• Engaging in business activities in public
• Using public or commercial transportation services
• Walking or operating any public, commercial, or industrial area where maintaining a distance of six feet between other people at all times is not possible

Failure to wear a mask in these circumstances would have resulted in a $25 fine. Children under 3 would not have to wear a mask if the resolution had passed.

Council did approve a resolution to “encourage” citizens to wear masks.

Before the Thursday night vote was taken, Mayor Greg Habib said it was “fair to say wearing a mask is better than not wearing a mask,” referring to the CDC’s guidance.

The latest numbers released by state health officials on Thursday reported 1,106 new cases of COVID-19 and 8 more deaths in South Carolina.

Dr. Linda Bell with the Department of Health and Environmental Control said with the new increase in cases reported this week, South Carolina is at a “critical junction.” There was a record high number of positive cases reported on Wednesday with 1,291 cases.

Bell said it was also a “disturbing fact” that South Carolinians traveling to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are now required to quarantine for 14 days.

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