NEWS RELEASE – COVID-19

Georgetown County to close its buildings
to the public beginning Wednesday

GEORGETOWN COUNTY — Georgetown County government will temporarily close the majority of its facilities to the public beginning on Wednesday, March 18. County staff will still report to work to continue serving the public via phone and online. Closures will be in place for an indeterminate amount of time as the county is in a State of Emergency.

The step is part of Georgetown County’s effort to protect residents and employees as jurisdictions across the nation deal with the worldwide threat of COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus. The highly contagious virus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and poses a significant threat to those in the county as it continues to spread. This threat led Georgetown County to declare a State of Emergency yesterday and close parks and recreation facilities.

“This is an unprecedented situation for us,” said Georgetown County Interim Administrator Wesley Bryant. “We want to keep providing services to the best of our ability, but at the same time, we want to lead by example and do our part to keep our employees and our community safe. It’s going to require some innovation and creativity on our part as we move forward and figure this out as the situation evolves.”

A few key facilities will remain open with some alterations to normal operations to limit person-to-person contact and the spread of germs. Those facilities are as follows:

  • The Georgetown Airport and terminal building will remain open. Staff will take steps to limit the number of people in the facility at any time to less than 10.

All other county facilities will be closed to the public. Hours of operation for most county offices will remain at 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m

 

All individuals are encouraged to continue practicing the basic precautionary measures recommended by SCDHEC and the CDC, including:

  • Washing hands frequently;
  • Coughing and sneezing into a barrier, such as your elbow or a tissue;
  • Avoiding touching of the eyes, nose and mouth;
  • Avoiding contact with those who are sick; and
  • Staying at home if you are sick.

Anyone with questions regarding COVID-19, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/ or https://scdhec.gov/health/infectious-diseases/viruses/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19 or call the SCDHEC Care Line at 1-855-472-3432.