City of Columbia issues Emergency Mask Ordinance

The ordinance in the City of Columbia goes into effect immediately

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The City of Columbia has passed an emergency mask ordinance.

The City Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday on the measure.

According to the City, the ordinance, which goes into effect immediately requires mask in all buildings open to the general public.

Masks will be required for everyone ages 5 and over.
Violators could face fines of up to $100.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin says its up to everyone to curb the spread of the virus.

Last month the city voted to issue an emergency mask mandate for masks in schools and city buildings. The measure was challenged in court and last week the South Carolina State Supreme Court ruled against the City’s challenge on mask mandate bans in schools.

ABC Columbia News reached out to the South Carolina Attorney General’s office who referred to the Supreme Court’s previous ruling in reaction to today’s ordinance as it applies to schools.
It reads, “The notion that city employees would infiltrate the schools and, without any assistance from school personnel and without a penny of state funds, would be able to mandate masks and impose civil penalties for violations strains credulity and, in fact, is demonstrably false, as proven by the terms of the ordinances themselves.”