COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – Gov. McMaster issued an executive order to close nonessential businesses listed under the order effective 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Rather than list businesses that are essential, McMaster said it would be more useful to list the ones that should be closed. “These are places where we know the virus has a good place to grow,” McMaster said.
The list includes:
Entertainment venues: Nightclubs, bowling alleys, arcades, concert venues, theaters, auditoriums, performing art centers, tourist attractions, indoor play areas, race tracks, bingo halls, social clubs, and adult entertainment.
Athletic facilities: Sports requiring people to be closer than 6 feet or share equipment.
Services: Barbershops, hair salons, waxing, threading, nail salons, spas, body art, tanning, massage therapy.
This does not include daycare centers, the governor said.
“We must be aggressive as we can be to stop the virus,” McMaster said, “but at the same time not going too far destroying business and jobs people are dependent on.” The state Department of Commerce is set up to clarify the closings for any business that has questions.
Gov. McMaster also said people across the state are doing what is asked of them. The streets are relatively empty and traffic is down on the interstates by about two-thirds. He said airport traffic is down by 90 percent in some parts of the state.
About 73 percent of state employees are working from home now, Gov. McMaster said, which is about 53,000 workers.
For a full list of non-essential businesses, visit the SC Dept. of Commerce’s website here.
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