Face Coverings now required in the Town of Yemassee

Yemassee Town Council approved an Emergency Ordinance on July 14, 2020, mandating that everyone wear a face covering when entering any building open to the public in the Town of Yemassee.

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Section 1. Definitions

• “Face Covering” means a uniform piece of cloth, fabric, or other material that securely covers a person’s nose and mouth and remains affixed in place without the use of one’s hands. Face Coverings include, but are not limited to, bandanas, medical masks, cloth masks, scarves, and gaiters, provided that they are worn such that they securely cover the person’s nose and mouth
• For the purposes of Section 3(b) of this Ordinance, “person” shall be defined as any individual associated with the business who has the control or authority and ability to enforce the requirements of the Ordinance within the business, such as an owner, manager or supervisor. “Person” may also include an employee or other designee that is present at the business but does not have the title of manager, supervisor, etc., but has the authority and ability to ensure that the requirements of this Ordinance are met while the business is open to the public.

Section 2. Requirements for Face Coverings

• All persons entering any building open to the public in the Town must wear a face covering while inside the building.
• All restaurants, retail establishments of every description, salons, grocery stores, and pharmacies in the limits of the Town shall require their employees to wear a Face Covering at all times that the employees are in any area where the general public is allowed. This requirement also applies to all persons providing or utilizing over-the-road public or commercial transportation and all businesses or employees while interacting with people in outdoor spaces, including, but not limited to, curbside pickup, delivery, and service calls. All such businesses must provide face coverings or materials for the making of such face coverings for their employees. Such coverings or materials may be made available staff-wide or individually upon employee request so long as the result is the organization-wide use of face coverings. Nothing shall prevent an employee from fashioning his or her own cloth face mask. If a worker or customer refuses to wear a cloth face covering for other than medical reasons, a business may decline entry or service to that individual.
• The following individuals are exempt from this Ordinance: any person under the age of eight, or who is unable to safely wear a Face Covering due to age or an underlying health condition, or who is unable to remove the Face Covering without the assistance of others; and any person traveling in a personal vehicle, or when a person is alone or is in the presence of only household members in an enclosed space, and people who are actively drinking or eating. This Ordinance does not relieve business establishments and restaurants from other social distancing requirements imposed by the Governor’s Executive Orders.

Section 3. Penalties

• A person who fails to comply with Section2.(a) or Section 2.(b) of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a civil infraction, punishable by a noncriminal fine of not more than $25.00.No state assessments will be assessed on this civil infraction/noncriminal fine.
• Each day of a continuing violation of this Ordinance shall be considered a separate and distinct offense. In addition to the fines established by this section, repeated violations of this Ordinance by a person who owns, manages, operates or otherwise controls a business subject to this Ordinance may, subject to all procedural protections set forth in the Town Code of Ordinances, result in the suspension or revocation of any occupancy permit or business license issued to business where the repeated violations occurred. Repeated violations of this Ordinance are additionally hereby declared to be a public nuisance, which maybe abated by the Town by restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction, or other means provided for by the Town Code of Ordinances and laws of this state. The foregoing notwithstanding, every effort shall be made to bring the business into voluntary compliance with the terms of this Ordinance prior to the issuance of any citation
• The Town of Yemassee Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction on any and all infractions and/or suspension/revocation of permits or licenses as set out in this Section 3.

Section 4. Severability

• If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are declared to be severable.

Section 5. Effective Date; Expiration

• The provisions hereof shall be adopted upon a single hearing and two-thirds vote of the Governing Body, and shall be effective at noon on July 15, 2020, and shall be terminated by the issuance of another ordinance or shall automatically expire on the 61^st day after enactment of this Ordinance, whichever date is earlier."