Mayor Benjamin: “Data, not dates” will drive city’s response to COVID-19

City has issued series of curfews, "stay-at-home" order since the start of March

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) —Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin says now is not the time to slow down the city’s approach towards fighting the coronavirus.

He says city staff is looking at new ways to prevent the spread of the virus while enforcing social distancing guidelines.

As of Wednesday, Richland County has the most confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Carolina, totaling more than 700.

Mayor Benjamin says more cases could be out there, but current testing data doesn’t paint the whole picture.

“South Carolina is still regrettably 48th per capita in testing across the country, so we’ve tried to rely heavily on data, rely heavily on testing. Testing gives you data, data gives you intelligence, intelligence allows you to make informed decisions,” Mayor Benjamin said.

To combat the economic effects of the pandemic, Mayor Benjamin and the City Council agreed to give $1 million to support hundreds of locally owned businesses.

Some of these businesses reopened after an executive order from Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC) allowed them to welcome small groups of customers again. Under this executive order, certain stores can only have 20% of their posted occupancy, or five customers per 1,000 sq. feet, inside at one time.

“The reality is you can say you can reopen the economy all you want. If citizens don’t feel comfortable fully participating in that economy, then it’s just not going to happen. God bless the Governor, however he decides to move forward,” said Mayor Benjamin.

To promote social distancing, Mayor Benjamin and the City Council have issued a series of curfews as well as a “stay-at-home order” over the last month. 

The Columbia Police Department says officers have given warnings to some people about social distancing, and those people have complied. 

With the effectiveness of these measures, Mayor Benjamin says now is not the time to stop safe behaviors.

“If in fact data shows significant improvements, and shows a real deceleration in the number of cases, then we can probably take the foot off the gas, but we’re going to be driven by data, not arbitrary dates,” Mayor Benjamin said.

Throughout the last month, Mayor Benjamin has announced partnerships to enable testing for city employees, and has looked into ways at making budget meetings, which are set to begin in a couple of weeks, more interactive with involvement from community members.

Mayor Benjamin and members of the city’s Coronavirus Task Force will be meeting virtually Thursday morning at 11 a.m. to discuss the city’s response to the virus and what needs to be done down the road. 

The task force last met was on March 6, the same day the first two presumed positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in South Carolina.

As of Wednesday evening, DHEC says 4,761 South Carolinians have tested positive for the coronavirus, with 140 deaths statewide.