With COVID-19 cases increasing and overwhelming local hospitals, the city of Charleston moved to a high level of pandemic response on Monday, further restricting public meetings and access to city offices.
The Phase 2 city rules will mean no permission for meetings in the city parks, such as weddings. Meetings with city officials will be by appointment only, and special events will not be allowed.
“Everyone who can work at home, let’s ask them to work at home,” said Mayor John Tecklenburg in reference to city officials during an open-air press conference behind City Hall.
The main indicators of the pandemic are “all moving in the wrong direction,” he said.
The city’s strictest protocols do not change any business rules, but Tecklenburg urged entrepreneurs and residents to voluntarily step up efforts to protect themselves and prevent the pandemic from worsening by wearing masks, social distance and avoiding large meetings.
Charleston is not a pandemic outbreak in South Carolina, but cases have increased significantly since October. Last week, a federal report listed the Greenville metropolitan area as having the country’s worst outbreak among areas with a population of 250,000 to 1 million; Florence was among the worst for areas under 250,000.
“Charleston has been incredibly good since last summer, when we had that peak, in implementing protective measures,” said MUSC Health CEO, Dr. Patrick Cawley. “Because of that, we have not seen the increase that other parts of South Carolina have seen.”
Across the state, South Carolina is now among the five hardest hit states in terms of new cases per person, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Cawley and Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, president and CEO of Roper St. Francis Healthcare, urged area residents to get vaccinated as soon as they can. Starting on Wednesday, residents of the state aged 70 or older can start scheduling appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the governor announced on Monday.
Depending on how long it lasts, Charleston’s ban on special events can have an impact on hotels and restaurants, and this could further damage the city’s revenue from hotel stays, restaurant meals and parking garages.
Prior to the change in city rules on Monday, several special events were canceled or, like the Charleston Marathon, became virtual. According to city officials, there are no special events that will be canceled immediately due to the change in rules.
Will Bratton, 4, from Florence watches the grazing and border collie demonstration at Brittlebank Park during the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in February 2019. SEWE was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Archive / Grace Beahm Alford / Staff
The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, traditionally the first major tourist event of the year in Charleston, has been scheduled for February 11 to 14 with plans to limit participation. Instead, the nonprofit group canceled the event during the first week of January.
The Cooper River Bridge Run, which reported a $ 30 million economic impact, usually attracts around 40,000 people and was canceled in 2020. This year it was scheduled for March 27, then rescheduled for September 25.
The city’s phase change does not affect the Volvo Car Open, a tennis tournament scheduled for April 3-11 on Daniel Island. City-owned facilities are rented and Phase 2 rules do not apply to rented facilities. However, the Volvo Car Open previously announced a “break” in ticket sales for the April event.
“As we cannot accurately predict, at this point, how many fans will be able to join us in April, we decided to stop selling the Volvo Car Open tickets until further notice,” says an undated statement on the event ticket sale website .
If Phase 2 rules continue, they could prevent Charleston Farmers Market from opening in mid-March, as planned. The unanswered question is: how long will the restrictions last?
As South Carolina left most cities to define most of the rules related to the pandemic, Charleston area residents will continue to see very different responses in different areas.
Across the Charleston River, Mount Pleasant’s less stringent regulations are due to expire on Thursday, and on Monday there was no announced plan to extend them.
Reach David Slade at 843-937-5552. Follow him on Twitter @DSladeNews.