Effective April 7, 2020, at 5:00 pm, South Carolina will join most other states with statewide “stay at home” orders. Governor Henry McMaster referred to the order as a “home or work” order that would require people to stay home if they are not at work or tending to essential needs. A copy of the South Carolina Governor’s full order is here.
The order does not close more businesses than had previously been closed, but did create additional limits on how many customers can be inside a store at any given time. According to his order, all stores must limit customers to five customers per 1,000 square feet, or 20% of the business’ capacity, whichever is less, and enforce social distancing.
In addition to the SC Governor’s “home or work” order, on April 3rd, South Carolina suspended all short-term rentals to people from locations that have been identified as “hot spots” by the CDC. A copy of that order is here. The order specifically listed the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, but could also include any other areas deemed by the CDC to be hot spots. The ban on short-term rentals includes hotels, motels, vacation homes, condos, bed and breakfasts, and timeshares.
Violations of the order can result in a fine of $100.00 for each day of violation and up to 30 days in jail.
Among those businesses required to close so far are:
1. Entertainment venues and facilities
- Night clubs
- Bowling alleys
- Arcades
- Concert venues
- Theaters, auditoriums and performing arts centers
- Tourist attractions (including museums, aquariums and planetariums)
- Racetracks
- Indoor children’s play areas
- Adult entertainment venues
- Bingo halls
- Venues operated by social clubs
2. Recreational and athletic facilities and activities
- Fitness and exercise centers and commercial gyms
- Spas and public or commercial swimming pools
- Group exercise facilities (including yoga, barre and spin studios or facilities)
- Spectator sports
- Sports that involve interaction with another person in close proximity and within less than six (6) feet of another person
- Activities that require the use of shared sporting apparatus and equipment
- Activities on commercial or public playground equipment
3. Close-contact service providers
- Barber shops
- Hair salons
- Waxing salons
- Threading salons
- Nail salons and spas
- Body-art facilities and tattoo services
- Tanning salons
- Massage-therapy establishments and massage service
4. Retail stores
- Furniture and home-furnishings stores
- Clothing, shoe and clothing-accessory stores
- Jewelry, luggage and leather goods stores
- Department stores, with the exception of hardware and home-improvement stores
- Sporting goods stores
- Book, craft and music stores
- Flea markets
- Florists and flower stores
We are closely monitoring events as they occur and will update this and other items that may be of interest to community associations and those who live in and around them.
Law Firm Carolinas attorneys are licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina. For specific questions about your community, reach out to one of our community association attorneys.