Visitors to Aiken will no longer be required to wear a face mask.
Aiken City Council voted Wednesday night in a special meeting to end the mask-wearing mandate. The mandate ended at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The mandate was first enacted on an emergency basis in July 2020. It was subsequently renewed in votes held through November 2020.
The vote ending the mandate was 4 to 3 with councilmembers Gail Diggs, Lessie Price and Ed Woltz voting no. They said they do not oppose ending the mandate but were concerned it may be too soon.
MORE: Latest COVID-19 Updates in South Carolina and Georgia
Private businesses do still have the right to require masks in their buildings.
The council vote came less than a week after the Aiken School District announced a change in its mask-wearing policy.
Effective immediately, the district made mask-wearing outdoors on school grounds optional.
Aiken County Superintendent King Laurence said, “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our families and employees as health and safety guidelines related to the pandemic continue to change.”
Masks are still required inside school district buildings.
[adrotate banner=”22″]
The school district announcement comes as parents are waiting for the CDC to decide on a temporary use authorization allowing children age 12 to 15 to be vaccinated. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine has been cleared for use in children 16 and older.
In the South Carolina Department of Environmental Control’s virtual briefing on Wednesday, Assistant State Epidemiologist Dr. Jane Kelly said she is concerned with upcoming prom and graduation season.
Dr. Kelly said she is particularly concerned that proms could become super-spreader events. She reminded teens the Pfizer vaccine is approved for everyone over the age of 16.
“If you’re old enough to go to prom, you’re old enough to get vaccinated,” added Dr. Kelly.
Dr. Kelly said the highest rates of new cases are in the 16 to 34 age range.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
[adrotate banner=”38″]
