Since
the threat of the coronavirus first became clear in China and later in Europe,
the city of Charleston has taken a number of steps to prepare and to help keep
our employees and citizens safe – our #1 priority.
A
significant part of that effort has been closing down public facilities,
including the City Market, Dock Street Theatre, Old Slave Mart Museum and more,
postponing public meetings and limiting public gatherings in accordance with
recommendations from our medical community and the CDC.
In
order to further reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, we suspended all
instructor-led Recreation Department programs and classes, including youth and
adult sports, and closed the doors to our senior centers. Additionally, we
suspended all city permitted tours until further notice.
Charleston
City Council has begun holding daily emergency meetings by telephone to receive
updates from Emergency Management on the city’s efforts to mitigate impacts and
to ensure continued city operations in a safe environment.
And
speaking of public safety, I want to assure everyone that our Police and Fire
Departments will continue to operate as normal, but with enhanced safety
protocols, in order to preserve public safety.
And,
now, effective at 5 p.m. today, the city will close all remaining offices and
indoor recreation facilities to the public. We will continue to provide
services to citizens while taking every possible precaution with regard to public
health and safety.
For
many of our employees, as we continue to strongly urge everyone to practice
social distancing, this next step will necessitate a transition to working from
home. Some departments for which telecommuting is less feasible, such as Livability
and Tourism, Parks, Public Service, and others, we will divide crews
into alternate teams that will alternate workweeks, so as to reduce contact
with other city staff and the public.
Beginning
on Monday, for a week, bulk trash/debris collection will be suspended citywide,
in order to make additional crews available to assist with garbage collection.
This suspension applies to the city of Charleston as whole, including areas
serviced by contractors (Daniel Island, Cainhoy, Outer West Ashley and Johns
Island). Citizens are asked to remove any existing curbside yard debris
and bulk/miscellaneous items and to refrain from placing these materials at the
curb until collection resumes. So green cans/garbage will be picked up
next week, not bulk debris.
To
ensure that essential city functions remain in operation during this
unprecedented time, some employees may even be temporarily reassigned to
positions and departments other than their own.
From an
economic standpoint, our number one concern right now is for all our citizens
who are suddenly losing their jobs and fighting to save their businesses as a
result of this crisis.
To
assist those who are feeling the economic effects most, the S.C.
Department of Employment and Workforce has created a new online hub (dew.sc.gov/covid-hub) where workers whose
employment was affected by COVID-19 can go to have their questions answered,
learn about ways they can help their employees, or find information on
unemployment benefits.
Additionally,
the city is currently working with the Small Business Administration and City
Council to make low-interest disaster loans available to help small businesses
overcome this temporary loss of revenue and survive this extraordinarily
difficult time. These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts
payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact.
Applicants
can apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and
download applications at disasterloan.sba.gov. Applicants may also
call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for
more information on available SBA disaster assistance. The deadline to
apply is Dec. 21, 2020.
There’s
no question that these are challenging times for us here in Charleston and for
those around the world. As we continue working with our local partners to slow
the spread of this virus and keep our community safe and healthy, what we need
most are two things that, fortunately, our citizens have in abundance here in
Charleston: common sense and the desire to be a good neighbor.
And
with that in mind, I’d like to make three requests of our citizens today:
1. Stay
home and limit trips to only those that are essential in order to reduce the
spread of this virus.
2. If
you develop the symptoms – cough and fever – self-quarantine immediately and go
to MUSC’s telehealth website (musc.care) to register and get in their system
for testing.
3. Under
the heading of being a good neighbor, please, don’t hoard groceries and other
household supplies. There is plenty to go around, as long as we buy only what
we need and continue to look out for one another.
As
always, the health and safety of the citizens of Charleston remains our number
one priority. I ask that you all continue to be smart and do your part to help
flatten the curve by staying home and helping to spread that message on social
media by using the hashtag #FlattenTheCurveSC.
And
finally, I must take a moment to commend the remarkable men and women in our
community – the many healthcare workers, grocery store employees, cops,
firefighters, and more – who continue going to work every day to protect our
citizens and help our city through these unprecedented times. We owe you a
great debt of gratitude and truly couldn’t do this without you.
Thank you,
Mayor John Tecklenburg
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