The Town of Port Royal unanimously passed an ordinance on Wednesday evening requiring masks be worn in all buildings open to the public within the town limits to help slow the coronavirus spread.
The ordinance goes into effect at 8am tomorrow, Thursday, July 2nd.
The ordinance expires in 30 days unless council votes to shorten or extend the length of it.
Violation of the order could result in a fine of $50.
Here’s the ordinance as spelled out by the Town of Port Royal:
All persons entering a commercial establishment open to the public in the Town must wear a face covering while inside the establishment. The business shall not have responsibility for enforcing this requirement, but shall post conspicuous signage at all entrances informing its patrons of the requirements of this section. “Masks, face shields or face coverings are not required when at a business and engaged in an activity that makes wearing a mask, face shield or face covering not feasible, such as strenuous physical exercise, performers singing or playing an instrument if at least six (6) feet of distance is maintained from others.”
All commercial establishments in the Town must require their employees to wear a face covering at all times while having face to face interaction with the public.
Any person who is unable to safely wear a face covering due to age, under the age of eight(8), due to an underlying health condition, or is unable to remove the face covering without the assistance of others is exempt from their Ordinance.
A person who fails to comply with Section 1.a or Section 1.b of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a civil infraction, punishable by a fine of not more than $50.00; however, effort shall be made to allow voluntary compliance with the terms of this Ordinance prior to the issuance of any citation.
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 may be 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. For the purposes of Section 1.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, et., but has the authority and ability to ensure that the requirements of this Ordinance are met while the business is open to the public.
The provisions hereof shall be adopted upon a single hearing and two-thirds vote of the Governing Body, and shall be effective at 8am on July 2, 2020, and shall be terminated by the issuance of another ordinance or shall automatically expire on the 30th day after enactment of this Ordinance, whichever date is earlier.
The City of Beaufort passed a similar ordinance on Monday that took effect at 11:59pm on Tuesday night, with the same fine applying in a violation.
