City of Walterboro Monitors COVID-19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/27/20)

The Mayor and City Staff are working all day, every day, to be as prepared and equipped as possible to best serve our citizens and businesses throughout this COVID-19 event. We have coordinated with local Grocery Stores to establish Senior Shopping Hours in order to more safely serve our Seniors and Vulnerable Adults.

Additionally, as we see some people not properly practicing Social Distancing and other proper measures, this Declaration may serve a way to further highlight that this situation is real, serious, and deserving of our full attention.

The City implores you to please follow CDC guidelines on proper hygiene practices, social distancing and group gathering sizes.

What does a State of Emergency mean for the City of Walterboro:

• Recognizes that we are entering the acceleration phase of the virus and although there is only one confirmed case at this time, that number is likely to grow.

• Intended to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and encourages joint efforts from business and residents to follow the recommendations from the CDC.

• Encourages our citizens to stay home and to make only necessary public outings.

• Establishes Emergency Criteria for emergency City Council meetings.

• Establishes alternative responses to calls and services for city personnel and our first responders.

• Supports our joint efforts with other municipalities in the area who have also declared a State of Emergency.

What the State of Emergency does NOT mean:

• There is no curfew set in place at this time.

• There is no order to shelter in place set at this time.

• Not an order to close businesses.

This declaration is to ensure that our residents and visitors aretaking heed to all the CDC guidelines and orders placed by Governor McMaster.

“Our behavior and compliance with guidelines matter. It will help “Flatten the Curve” and keep the level to which COVID-19 affects Walterboro to a minimum. We are all in this together and if we all support each other, including our businesses that are being affected daily, we will all get through this together.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/26/20)

In an attempt to protect our citizens and our personnel amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Walterboro Police Department and Colleton County Sheriff’s Office will be moving into the third tier of modified operations. This change is in continued support of the emergency declarations from both President Trump and Governor McMaster and based on collaborative recommendations from all Essential Support personnel with the Colleton County Fire Rescue Emergency Management.

Until further notice, officers and deputies will be responding to complaints of non-emergency incidents that have occurred in the past with a telephone call to the complainant. Incident reports will still be written and follow-up investigations, where necessary, will still occur. Examples of calls that are likely to receive a phone call response are thefts or vandalisms that have already occurred.

The Walterboro Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Center will be closed to in-person lobby services until further notice.

The Walterboro Police Department and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office will continue to ensure the safety of our citizens and our community. This alternative plan will in no way inhibit proactive patrolling and rapid response to emergency situations.

The procedure for citizens remains unchanged. Always call 911 if there is an emergency. If it is a non-emergency, please call the Colleton County Dispatch Center as 843-549-2211.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/26/20)

Enacting Senior/Vulnerable Adult Hour for local Grocery Stores

The City of Walterboro will continue to assist local businesses and residents during this time. Mayor Young has worked diligently with local grocery stores to establish a Senior/Vulnerable Adult Hour. Effective, Friday, March 27, 2020, this hour will be observed as the first hour the store is open. For example, Bi-Lo has enacted their hour from 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM. This will allow our seniors or adults with risk factors, such as auto-immune disorders, to shop with less traffic inside.

Upon this declaration, the City of Walterboro will be helping our local stores by posting flyers with senior hours and store hours. We ask that residents continue to do their part to help vulnerable community members during this time. We will be posting updates on small businesses on social media during this time to help the lines of communication remain strong.

Below is a list of participating stores:

PARTCIPATING STORE	DAYS	SENIOR/VULNERABLE HOUR
Walmart	Tuesday-Thursday	6:00 AM- 7:00 AM
Foodland	Everyday	7:00 AM- 8:00 AM
H&D Super Market	Everyday	7:00 AM- 8:00 AM
Piggly Wiggly	Everyday	7:00 AM- 8:00 AM
IGA	Everyday	7:00 AM- 8:00 AM
Bi-Lo	Everyday	8:00 AM- 9:00 PM

Mayor Young requests for the citizens of Walterboro to follow the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to include practicing good hygiene (washing hands, especially after touching any frequently used item or surface), observing social distancing measures, avoiding any unnecessary travel and we are urging people to stay home and only make those public outings that are absolutely necessary.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/25/20)

Mayor Bill Young has declared an official State of Emergency for the City of Walterboro to help safeguard against the spread of COVID-19.

IMPORTANT LINKS (03/18/20)

FOLLOW US: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cityofwalterboro/ Twitter https://twitter.com/WalterboroSC
COLLETON COUNTY CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION: https://www.colletoncounty.org/Coronavirus
COLLETON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT (MEALS): http://www.colletonsd.org/
COLLETON COUNTY FIRE RESCUE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: http://www.colletonfire.com/em/
SOUTH CAROLINA DHEC: https://www.scdhec.gov/infectious-diseases/viruses/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19
CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/17/20)

The City of Walterboro is announcing a series of closures effective immediately:

City Hall and the Citizen Services Center will not be open to the public starting 8:00 AM, Tuesday, March 17th and will be limited to accepting water bill payments, permit applications and business license payments at the drive-thru window at the Citizen Services Center at 300 Hampton Street.
For any water bill or business license questions, please call (843) 782-1065. For all building permit applications or garbage collection inquiries, please call (843) 782-1002.
Customers can also pay water bills at the night drop box and by phone by calling 1-888-604-7888 (plc #8273).
Online services will also be offered at the City’s website, walterborosc.org.
Water service will not be shut off for non-payment during the State of Emergency.
All municipal court proceedings, including jury trials are postponed until further notice. Please call municipal court at (843) 782-1057 with any questions.
The Walterboro Wildlife Center and the Walterboro Welcome Center will also be closed to the public until further notice.
Trash pickup and yard debris collection will continue as scheduled.
Police and fire service will continue to operate normally with no reduction in services.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/16/20)

After consultation with the members of Walterboro City Council and city staff, Mayor Bill Young has issued the following statement: Because of the COVID – 19 out-break we will be postponing upcoming events in the City of Walterboro. These events that we look forward to and enjoy can now make us sick.

Slowing the spread of this virus will hasten the time when we will be able to return to our normal lives and restore economic activity. These actions will help protect us all, especially the elderly and the most vulnerable among us. We should understand that if we have large numbers of people get ill at the same time, everyone may not be able to get the medical care that they need. Postponing these events will save lives.

Dr. Deborah Birx with the Coronavirus Task Force stated that everyone with any kind of respiratory illness should assume that it is contagious and avoid contact with others and also that a negative Covid-19 test today does not mean that you will continue to be virus free in the future.

Events being postponed include: The WHAM Festival, all Rice Festival Events, Charleston Jazz, Tour de Lowcountry, Walterboro Downtown Criterium, as well as April and May’s First Thursday Events.

New dates for these events will be announced soon.

Additionally, this morning the Center for Disease Control recommended that ALL other events of 50 people or more be canceled for the next two months.

To assist our small businesses, I’m asking city staff to gather information on federal assistance, and make that information available to those businesses needing to seek help during this national emergency.

You are encouraged to continue to wash your hands, cough into your elbow, practice social distancing, avoid unnecessary public outings, and stay home if you are sick. Together we will get through this pandemic.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (03/13/20)

The City of Walterboro has been monitoring the Coronavirus known as COVID-19 that has been progressing throughout South Carolina, with our concentration on Walterboro and Colleton County. Mayor Young, along with City Officials, have been attending and monitoring all Emergency Management meetings and releases regarding COVID-19 from both a state and local level.

We want our residents to know that we as a City are taking precautionary measures to stay on top of the possible spread of this virus in our area. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will keep you informed of any event closures or special restrictions on businesses.

We encourage you to go out and support the local restaurants and other small business while practicing proper hygienic measures. These small businesses that we all cherish, need us now more than ever. All our restaurants offer both dine-in and take-out service.

Below is a list of important links and ways to follow all developing COVID-19 information: