CHARLOTTE, NC – North Carolina and South Carolina have different approaches when it comes to staying at home orders.
However, both states have imposed additional measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In North Carolina, there is an order to stay at home, with Mecklenburg County closing playgrounds and sports courts.
However, on one side of Freedom Park it remained busy, with people exercising and gathering in small groups.
Two people in the park, Courtney and Jamin Elliot, decided to move to the other side of the park to ensure that they could practice social detachment.
“As a health care provider, I’m trying to keep my distance, so it’s a little more difficult because there are more people walking around,” said Countey.
The Elliot family said they believed that people were following the rules for the most part.
“I don’t see large groups coming together. It’s just a couple or a small family,” said Courtney.
If they are not following the rules, rangers are quick to warn them.
According to Mecklenburg County officials, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police will manage violations of the order of stay at home through voluntary compliance, education, dialogue and cooperation from community members.
Inspection actions will be used as a last resort, they said.
Until Saturday, the CMPD issued at least 13 citations and arrested eight people for violating the order of stay at home.
In South Carolina, the authorities are watching. Although there is no order to stay at home, Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order shutting down public recreational facilities such as public peers, docks and boat ramps.
Cory Shannon, 19, disagrees with this rule. On Saturday, he planned to go on a boat trip with several friends.
“Closing a boat launch where a group of people you already know isn’t going to change much when you can still go to Lowe’s and meet 100 strangers you’ve never met before,” says Shannon.
Shannon added that he would not comply with the rules unless they were applied. According to him, he has “no fear of the virus”.
After his interview with Spectrum News, an officer from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources approached Shannon and his friends.
He told them that only three people could be on the boat, which left Shannon behind.
There can also be consequences associated with non-compliance with the rules in South Carolina. However, the DNR official said he is trying to get people to obey before taking more serious action.
Other executive orders in South Carolina closed non-essential deals. It also banned short-term rentals to allow visitors from areas with extensive community transmission of COVID-19.