Governor McMaster: Masking children to protect adults is the wrong thing to do

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– Earlier this morning, Governor Henry McMaster held a news conference to update the state’s response to COVID-19.

Governor Henry McMaster began by encouraging people to make the decision to get vaccinated if they want to, pointing out how readily available the vaccine is. While not requiring anyone to get the vaccine, the governor says he strongly recommends making the decision to get vaccinated now if you are going to. He reminded people that his family is vaccinated, said the vaccine is effective and that breakthrough cases are less severe if you do catch COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated.

Despite acknowledging the threat the Delta variant poses, McMaster says he refuses to shut the state down or require masks in school, something City of Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin announced last week for schools in the Capitol City.

McMaster reiterated that he believes students wearing masks in school should be up to parents. He says the data supports that masks prevent COVID-19 transmission, but also said that masks make learning more difficult.

On Friday, South Carolina’s COVID-19 positivity rate was more than 16%. The governor reported that hospitals are at about 77% capacity, but contrasted this by saying it is less than the more than 80% capacity faced last year, before a vaccine was available. McMaster restated his claim that South Carolina is doing better economically than many other states by having less restrictions and compared the risk of kids going to school during a pandemic with the risk of driving to work.

While not mandating that people get the vaccine, the governor said that there are between 900-1,000 places to get that shot in the Palmetto State.

Congressman Joe Cunningham, who is running to replace Governor Henry McMaster in the 2022 election, released a statement following McMaster’s press conference.

“Governor McMaster made it clear this morning that he has no plan, no answers, and no willingness to lead. He is paralyzed by politics, terrified of a primary challenge from his right, and more concerned about his own political life than the lives of South Carolinians. After weeks of contradicting and overruling his own health experts and his own education superintendent, the Governor stood by himself this morning – on an island of ignorance – to declare that all is well. Despite South Carolina being ranked 46th in vaccinations and cases skyrocketing to double or triple the numbers of one year ago, Governor McMaster continues to regurgitate partisan talking points and rely on Facebook Doctors to shape our state’s COVID policy. His insistence on playing politics with this virus will undoubtedly lead to even more unnecessary loss of life.

Let me be clear: No one wants to shut down the state’s economy or keep schools closed – certainly not me. We simply want our Governor to listen to his own experts, follow the science, and put people over politics. He has failed to meet this moment with strength or resolve, and history will remember him as the governor who desperately wanted the title but never the job.”