McMaster allows limited reopening for entertainment venues, mandates restaurant guidelines

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Gov. Henry McMaster gave the green light for all businesses and venues that remained closed amid the continued spread of COVID-19 to reopen.
New measures address the reopening of theaters, night clubs and stadiums, among other establishments that “attract groups of people,” as well as require masks be worn in all state government offices and buildings starting Aug. 5, put restaurant guidelines into law and give local municipalities enforcement authority. All new orders except masks in government spaces go into effect Monday, Aug. 3.
Rules for businesses reopening – many performing arts venues and other mass gathering establishments were among the first to close in the spring when COVID-19 first arrived in South Carolina – require attendance to be capped at 50% or 250 people, whichever is less. Customers, participants and employees must wear masks or face coverings and follow social distancing, cleaning and hygiene practices that were previously guidelines issued by AccelerateSC, the state’s reopening task force.
Alcohol must still be cut off at 11 p.m.
Those allowed to reopen are festivals, parades, concerts, theaters, stadiums, arenas, coliseums, auditoriums, grandstands, amphitheaters, gymnasiums, concert halls, dance halls, performing arts centers, parks, racetracks and similarly operated entities. The governor said exceptions must be approved by the state Department of Commerce.
“We are not going to close down South Carolina,” McMaster said Wednesday at a news briefing.
He said football is a go-ahead for the fall, though he didn’t know how many people should be allowed to attend. High school football is allowed, he said, as long as the high school football league’s plan is approved.
Also starting Monday, guidelines for restaurants first established by AccelerateSC are now mandated by law, which includes 50% occupancy; employees and patrons must wear masks unless at their table; tables must be spaced at least 6 feet apart; no more than eight people per table unless from the same family; and no standing or congregating at a bar area of a restaurant.
He said restaurants are still encouraged to enroll in the voluntary Palmetto Priority program, a statewide initiative that offers a decal for restaurants proving they are following the guidelines that are now rules. He said 2,554 restaurants have been approved so far.
“These restaurant guidelines are now enforceable,” McMaster said.
The governor said state and local officials can enforce these new mandates, which are punishable by a misdemeanor and $100 fine or up to 30 days in jail.
“These limited restrictions are temporary, they are measured, and they are targeted towards what we know works,” he said. “These measures give South Carolina the best chance to slow the spread of the virus without shutting down the state’s economy – which we cannot and will not do – as many continue to call for.”
On Wednesday, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 1,666 new confirmed cases of the virus, which is spread in the air by people breathing. The department also reported 48 additional deaths, bringing the total number of South Carolinians to have tested positive for COVID-19 to 85,423 and those who have died to 1,551.
McMaster’s new order comes as the White House’s coronavirus task force is reporting South Carolina as a “red zone” for COVID-19. The recommendation for those “red zone” states – those with at least 100 cases per 100,000 people – is that more restrictions be enacted.
South Carolina, according to the report, has 242 cases per 100,000 people. The report, first obtained by the New York Times and then by ABC News other outlets, shows 21 states are deemed red.
Sumter is in the top 12 metro localities in the state and is a red county.
DHEC reported 55 new confirmed cases and two deaths in the county Wednesday, bringing the total number of Sumterites to have tested positive to 2,162 those who have died to 41.