The college football is officially back in South Carolina as the University of South Carolina had their first home game on Saturday.
The fans are more than happy to be back at the stadium, but the mask ordinance on and off the stadium is driving them furious.
According to the latest City of Columbia’s temporary mask ordinance, everyone who attended the game at the stadium was obligated to wear face mask, a rule the also applies for all the outdoor areas where social distancing is not possible.
Those who fail to comply with the order in situations where they are required to, face fine up to $100. The current ordinance will be in place at least until early October.
Meanwhile, the fans who attended the match said they are not happy with the ordinance and nothing will make them wear a mask. Before the match, they said that the ordinance couldn’t be enforced at the stadium and they were right.
“I think it’s just kind of hard for them to control a student body of 40,000 kids,” said UofSC senior Lauren Kirk.
Some of the attendees even said that the fine won’t change their mind as they oppose the ordinance in their everyday lives.
“I don’t like them. I don’t like how they feel,” said one fan.
For the City of Columbia’s ordinance, Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins says he hopes everyone chooses to follow the temporary mandate, so fire marshals won’t have to issue fines.
“Now I’m not naive to believe that we’re not going to end up writing citations, but that’s the last thing we want to do is write a citation,” said Chief Jenkins.
University senior Kennedy Perlis says enforcement is an all-or-nothing deal.
“If we as a community are going to enforce these policies about masks, we need to do it to the full extent,” said Perlis.
Meanwhile, some fans who attended the match said they are sticking to the ordinance and believe that many others should and will follow their behavior claiming that the public should act together in battling the pandemic.
“It’s not that hard to wear a mask and you know, even if you don’t believe in it yourself, if other people feel safer and won’t complain, then you should wear a mask,” said Kirk.
According to the City of Columbia’s ordinance, masks are required in the following situations:
- All public places within the City
- Inside commercial establishments or establishments open to the public in the City
- In situations where distances between people often change such as a busy sidewalk, waiting area, or popular outdoor area where it is impractical or impossible to maintain six feet of distance from others at all times
The temporary mask ordinance in the city of Columbia will be in place at least until October 11 when the city officials should vote again whether to extend the current ordinance.
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