For South Carolina bars, last call will be at 11 p.m. until further notice.
Gov. Henry McMaster ordered bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. each night in an executive order he named “The Last Call.” The prohibition goes into effect Saturday night as a way to try and stop the spread of COVID-19.
“This is an order that the state can enforce,” McMaster said during a news conference Friday. “It’s very difficult to enforce a statewide mask order, and one size doesn’t fit all. But this, with alcohol and beer after 11 o’clock at night, we can enforce this, and we will.”
Bars and restaurants that violate the order could have their liquor licenses suspended by the Department of Revenue. About 8,000 bars and restaurants that hold licenses for on-site alcohol consumption are affected by the order. It does not apply to alcohol sold at convenience stores, grocery stores or wine and liquor stores.
McMaster said the order is intended to help slow the spread of the coronavirus among the state’s younger population. About 38 percent of COVID-19 cases in South Carolina are between the ages of 21 and 40, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“Many of the young people in our state, as well as around the country, seem not to be taking the virus as seriously as they should,” McMaster said. “We hope that this will help all of us, particularly the younger generations, to realize just how serious this virus is and how much is at stake if we don’t see these infection rates start dropping.”
More than 42 percent of all South Carolina COVID-19 cases have been reported in the past two weeks, South Carolina Director of Public Health Dr. Joan Duwve. So far this week, 7,448 new cases and 52 new deaths have been reported in the state.
The rate of COVID-19 related deaths is down to 0.6 percent from 1 percent last week and 0.9 percent the week before. DHEC reported 12 percent of COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized. The statewide recovery rate is 89 percent.
“Wear your mask, wear your mask, wear your mask,” McMaster said. “Wash your hands. Keep that distance. Follow those rules, and we’ll get through this.”
