South Carolina to reopen public beaches, retail stores next week amid pandemic

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on Monday will announce the reopening of public beaches and retail stores that had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Post and Courier reported.

The impending restriction rollbacks follow McMaster’s announcement that access to public boat ramps and landings was reinstated on Friday.

Trey Walker, the governor’s chief of staff, told the paper that the beaches as well as furniture, jewelry and clothing stores will all be reopened for business on Tuesday.

Beaches and retail stores have been closed for just over two weeks in the Palmetto State as it tried to curb the spread of the virus.

Walker told The Post and Courier that infection rates dropped enough to make easing restrictions feasible.

The paper noted that social distancing will still be enforced on the state’s beaches. The state has more than 4,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 116 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

On Friday, Texas became the first state to lay out a defined rollback of COVID-19 restrictions, with Gov. Greg Abbott (R) saying that businesses in the state would being to reopen next week through a series of executive orders.