Governor Henry McMaster today announced the "Last Call" executive order.
This order prohibits the sale of alcohol at all restaurants and bars after 11 PM starting tomorrow night, Saturday July 11th.
Gov. McMaster reports that young people seem not to be taking the virus seriously, and this executive order is intended to minimize the indoor gathering of large groups of people, specifically young people.
The governor noted this executive order does not apply to convenience stores, retail, grocery stores, or alcohol and liquor stores, only bars and restaurants.
Those who do not adhere to the executive order can be ticketed and have their liquor license revoked.
Department of Revenue Director Hartley Powell confirmed this executive order applies to 8,000 licenses across the state.
"We work closely with SLED and what we want to achieve is compliance," Powell said. "We always issue warnings. We've never going to go in (and) take a license away without a warning, so first we'll warn. Then we'll have SLED come back in or local law enforcement and talk to them."
If the point of license revocation is reached, an order of temporary suspension will be issued and then the legal process of revoking the establishment's liquor license will begin.
Gov. McMaster said there is much at stake in relation to the public's actions concerning COVID-19: suffering, economic damage, mental and emotional consequences, educational consequences, and more.
Concerning economic damage, Gov. McMaster said South Carolina's business is business.
"If we can't work, we cannot survive as a prosperous state," Gov. McMaster said. "It's time for our younger adults to behave like mature adults. Wear your mask, keep that distance, wash your hands."
Dr. Joan Duwve, Director of Public Health with DHEC, reported that as of today 11,090 of the 50,458 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Carolina have occurred in the 21-30 age group.
This equates to 22% of all confirmed cases in state; 15% of cases in the state are in the 20 and under age group.
"Since June 1st, we've seen a 436.5% increase in new report COVID cases in this 21-30 age group," Dr. Duwve said.
She continued to say 42% of the total number COVID-19 cases in South Carolina since the beginning of the pandemic have been reported within past two weeks.
Dr. Duwve encouraged the public to work together to get these escalating numbers under control and avoid social activities that put people at risk.
"We know that wearing a face mask and maintaining soc distancing are effective tools in preventing this deadly virus," Dr. Duwve said.
Gov. McMaster reiterated once again: "Wear your mask, wear your mask, wear your mask."
Below is the official release from the Governor's Office.
Stay informed with updates from Prisma Health experts:
Send your story idea to news@1063WORD.com.
Like 106.3 WORD on Facebook and follow @1063WORD on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others.
Get news headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.