South Carolina has become the last state to issue an order to stay at home across the state, as it reports 2,232 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 48 deaths.
On March 31, without approving a stay order at home, Republican Governor Henry McMaster ordered non-essential businesses to close on April 1 and ordered visitors to South Carolina from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York Orleans was quarantined for 14 days.
Instead of ordering all companies to close and make exceptions, as most states did in their stay requests, McMaster ordered a specific list of non-essential companies to close.
The non-essential deals that were recommended to close last week included entertainment venues and facilities, recreational and sports facilities and activities, close contact service providers and non-essential retail stores.
Following initial closings due to “non-compliance”, on April 3, South Carolina also closed furniture stores, home furnishings stores, footwear, clothing and accessories stores, jewelry stores, luggage and leather goods stores, stores department stores, florists, sporting goods stores, bookstores, craft and music stores.
McMaster clarified that any retail company that remains open “should limit internal customers to no more than five customers per 1,000 square feet or 20 percent of maximum capacity, whichever is less.”
But yesterday, McMaster said at a briefing: “Today most of these recommendations are becoming mandates, becoming orders, with criminal penalties attached.”
Starting today, April 7 at 5 pm Eastern Time, South Carolina’s “home or work” request, which is similar to other states’ “stay at home” requests, will go into effect throughout the state.
McMaster said that a violation of mandatory orders would result in a 30-day prison sentence and / or a $ 100 fine for each day of violation.
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Rules for “home or work” orders in South Carolina
McMaster has issued a “home or work” order that means South Carolina residents must stay home or go to work when they are unable to work from home, in addition to accessing “essential business” or “essential activities”.
When participating in the listed essential activities or accessing essential businesses, South Carolina residents must maintain social distance guidelines, which include staying at least two meters away from people outside the home.
Essential activities in South Carolina’s “home or work order” include:
- Obtaining essential household items;
- Seek medical attention;
- Caring for or visiting a family member;
- Assistance to religious services;
- Travel by legal obligations;
- Participate in outdoor recreation;
- Caring for pets.
Non-core businesses forced to close
Although McMaster has already recommended closing these companies, as of 5 pm today, the following companies have been ordered to close:
- Entertainment venues, including nightclubs, bowling alleys, arcades, concert halls, theaters, tourist attractions, casinos and bingo halls.
- Sports facilities, including fitness centers and commercial gyms, public spas and swimming pools and activities on public playground equipment.
- Providers of close contact, including hairdressing salons, manicure salons, spas, tattoo services, tanning salons and massage services.
Advice from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the use of facial coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19
- The CDC recommends using a cloth cover for the face in public where measures of social distance are difficult to maintain.
- A simple cloth cover for the face can help to slow the spread of the virus by infected people and those who have no symptoms.
- Cloth coverings for the face can be made with household items. The guides are offered by the CDC. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html)
- Cloth face covers should be washed regularly. A washing machine will be sufficient.
- Practice safe removal of facial covers without touching the eyes, nose and mouth, and wash your hands immediately after removing the cover.
World Health Organization advice to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Hygiene advice
- Clean your hands frequently with water and soap or alcohol-based hand gel.
- Wash your hands after coughing or sneezing; caring for the sick; before, during and after food preparation; before eating; after using the bathroom; when hands are visibly dirty; and after handling animals or waste.
- Keep a distance of at least 1 meter (3 feet) from anyone coughing or sneezing.
- Avoid touching your hands, nose and mouth. Do not spit in public.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or bent elbow when coughing or sneezing. Discard the tissue immediately and clean your hands.
Medical advice
- Avoid close contact with other people if you have any symptoms.
- If you are not feeling well, stay at home, even with mild symptoms, such as headache and runny nose, to prevent the possible spread of the disease to medical facilities and other people.
- If you develop severe symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing), seek medical attention in advance and contact your local health authorities in advance.
- Write down any recent contact with other people and travel details to provide authorities who can track and prevent the spread of the disease.
- Keep up to date on COVID-19 developments released by health authorities and follow their guidelines.
Use of mask and glove
- Healthy people only need to wear a mask to care for a sick person.
- Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing.
- Masks are effective when used in combination with frequent hand cleaning.
- Do not touch the mask while wearing it. Clean your hands by touching the mask.
- Learn how to properly put on, remove and dispose of masks. Clean your hands after discarding the mask.
- Do not reuse disposable masks.
- Regularly washing unprotected hands is more effective against the capture of COVID-19 than wearing rubber gloves.
- The COVID-19 virus can still be caught in rubber gloves and spread by touching your face.