Mt. Pleasant passes ordinance requiring people to wear face masks at grocery stores, town owned buildings

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Mount Pleasant Town Council has passed an ordinance requiring people to wear face masks at grocery stores, pharmacies and town owned buildings.

Council voted on the issue 5-4 on Tuesday afternoon. The ordinance is in place for 60 days.

The ordinance states that all people entering a grocery store, pharmacy, or town owned or operated building must wear a face mask while inside the establishment. For the purpose of the ordinance, the term grocery store means a retail establishment that primarily sells food, but may also sell other convenience and household goods.

People failing to comply with this portion of the ordinance could face a fine of $25.

In addition, all restaurants, retail stores, salons, barber shops, grocery stores, pharmacies and town buildings must require employees to wear a face covering at all times while having face to face interaction with the public or other employees.

A person failing to comply with this portion of the ordinance could face a fine of $100.

Exemptions include anyone unable to safely wear a face covering due to age or a health condition, children under 12 years old, and emergency responders where wearing a mask is not practical when engaged in a public safety matter of an emergency nature.

The full ordinance can be read below.

Town Council had passed the first reading of the ordinance last week with a 5-4 vote.

A week before on Sept. 1, town council failed to pass a new mask ordinance after the previous ordinance expired. The ordinance failed to pass because at least six members, making up a super-majority, would have had to vote for its passage.

On his Twitter account, Haynie said he had “already heard concerns” from both Mount Pleasant hospitals, physicians and residents as well as “a local global health consultant and research fellow at Oxford.”

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