South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster | Facebook/Henry McMaster
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster | Facebook/Henry McMaster
During an Aug. 9 press conference, Gov. Henry McMaster stated that mask mandates for schools and government shutdowns were unnecessary, even as the state faces rising numbers of COVID-19 cases due to the delta variant.
McMaster instead advocated for personal responsibility and left it in the hands of South Carolinians to decide how to decide how to best protect their children from the spreading disease, according to ABC 4 News.
“Personal responsibility is the answer, common sense is the answer, and we have abundance of both in South Carolina,” McMaster said at the press conference.
McMaster vouched for the effectiveness of vaccines and urged residents to get vaccinated if they are able. Critics have argued that since the vaccine is still not available for children under age 12, many students will be returning to schools unvaccinated.
ABC 4 News also reported that approximately 52.1% of South Carolinians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 45% of residents are fully vaccinated.
The surge in rising COVID-19 cases has been attributed to the highly contagious delta variant of the virus and flagging vaccination rates, according to ABC 4 News.
The U.S. is currently averaging more than 100,000 new cases per day.
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