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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2021
Bipartisan Group of State Senators Ask Senate President for Special Session on COVID-19
Columbia, SC - A bipartisan group of State Senators sent a letter to the President of the South Carolina Senate, Harvey Peeler, today requesting he call the body back for a special session.
Senators Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg), Ronnie Sabb (D-Williamsburg), Luke Rankin (R-Horry), and Sandy Senn (R-Charleston) joined together to make the ask to return so that the Senate can reconsider a budget proviso that limits school districts from implementing mask requirements. This comes following several alarming outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools across the state, and a rapid rise in the number of pediatric cases.
Pickens County decided in an emergency meeting last week to switch to virtual learning after an outbreak left four staff members hospitalized, two of which are on ventilators, and one student in the hospital. Horry County Schools have one staff member currently hospitalized and on a ventilator. Kershaw County is currently struggling to control an outbreak in their schools that has infected more than 120 people and quarantined 600+. Last week, a 16-year old student in Lancaster County tragically lost their life to the virus. To date, 10,108 people in South Carolina have died from COVID-19.
The letter was delivered to the office of Senator Peeler electronically this evening. It is attached below.
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