EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 2020-14
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 2020-08,
declaring a State of Emergency based on a determination that the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
(“COVID-19”) poses an actual or imminent public health emergency for the State of South
Carolina; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared that the
COVID-19 outbreak in the United States constitutes a national emergency, which began on March
1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, in proactively preparing for and promptly responding to the evolving nature
and scope of the aforementioned emergency, the undersigned has initiated and implemented
various measures to address the significant public health, economic, and other impacts associated
with COVID-19 and to mitigate the resulting burdens on healthcare providers, individuals, and
businesses in the State of South Carolina; and
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 2020-09,
directing, inter alia, the closure of all public schools in the State of South Carolina for students
and non-essential employees beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, and through Tuesday, March
31, 2020, and the postponement or rescheduling of any election scheduled to be held in this State
on or before May 1, 2020, as well as urging that indoor and outdoor public gatherings be cancelled,
postponed, or rescheduled, to the extent possible, or limited so as not to exceed one hundred (100)
people; and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, based on updated information and recommendations
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the President of the United States
and the White House Coronavirus Task Force issued new guidance—titled, “The President’s
Coronavirus Guidelines for America: 15 Days to Slow the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)”—
to help protect Americans during the global COVID-19 outbreak; and
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March 27, 2020
WHEREAS, the President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America recommend, inter alia,
that the American people “[a]void social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people”; “[a]void
eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts—use drive-thru, pickup, or delivery
options”; and “[a]void discretionary travel, shopping trips, and social visits”; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 2020-10,
directing additional emergency measures in response to the threat posed by COVID-19, to include
temporarily prohibiting restaurants from providing certain food services for on-premises
consumption and prohibiting events at government facilities that would convene fifty (50) or more
people in a single room, area, or other confined indoor or outdoor space; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 2020-11,
initiating further emergency measures and suspending certain regulations to ensure the proper
function and continuity of state government operations and the uninterrupted performance and
provision of emergency, essential, or otherwise mission-critical state government services, while
simultaneously undertaking additional measures to safeguard the health and safety of state
employees, mitigate significant economic impacts and burdens on affected individuals and
employers, and provide regulatory relief to expedite emergency response initiatives and enhance
the availability of critical healthcare services; and
WHEREAS, on March 21, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 2020-12,
initiating additional actions to provide regulatory relief to facilitate “social distancing” practices
and to mitigate the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 on individuals and businesses
throughout the State, particularly restaurants and other food-service establishments; and
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 2020-13,
authorizing and directing law enforcement officers of the State, or any political subdivision
thereof, to, inter alia, prohibit or disperse any congregation or gathering of people, unless
authorized or in their homes, in groups of three (3) or more people, if any such law enforcement
official determines, in their discretion, that any such congregation or gathering of people poses, or
could pose, a threat to public health; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator,
recently urged individuals who have traveled from the New York metropolitan area to selfquarantine for a period of fourteen (14) days, due to their potential exposure to COVID-19, to
ensure that they do not facilitate the spread of COVID-19 to others; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force,
has likewise called for individuals who have visited New York to self-quarantine for a period of
fourteen (14) days so that the City of New York does not act as a “seeding point to the rest of the
country”; and
WHEREAS, after the Governor of the State of Florida imposed a quarantine procedure for
all air travelers arriving from the New York Tri-State Area (consisting of the States of New York,
New Jersey, and Connecticut), which is experiencing substantial community spread of COVID-
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March 27, 2020
19, the Mayor of the City of New York remarked to the press, “I understand it. We are the
epicenter”; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the Tri-State Area, the City of New Orleans, Louisiana is also
experiencing substantial community spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the State of South Carolina has identified an actual or potential increase in
the number of individuals travelling to this State from those areas experiencing significant
community spread of COVID- 19 and/or where “shelter-in-place” orders have been implemented,
including the New York Tri-State Area; and
WHEREAS, particularly in light of the foregoing developments, the undersigned has
determined that the rapidly evolving public health threat posed by COVID-19 warrants additional
proactive action by the State of South Carolina and the implementation of further extraordinary
measures to cope with the existing and anticipated emergency situation; and
WHEREAS, section 1-3-430 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, provides
that when a state of emergency has been declared, the undersigned “may further, cope with such
threats and danger, order and direct any person or group of persons to do any act which would in
his opinion prevent or minimize danger to life, limb or property, or prevent a breach of the peace;
and he may order any person or group of persons to refrain from doing any act or thing which
would, in his opinion, endanger life, limb or property, or cause, or tend to cause, a breach of the
peace, or endanger the peace and good order of the State or any section or community thereof, and
he shall have full power by use of all appropriate available means to enforce such order or
proclamation”; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 1-3-460 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended,
the foregoing and other emergency authority is “supplemental to and in aid of powers now vested
in the Governor under the Constitution, statutory laws[,] and police powers of the State”; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with section 25-1-440 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as
amended, when an emergency has been declared, the undersigned is “responsible for the safety,
security, and welfare of the State and is empowered with [certain] additional authority to
adequately discharge this responsibility,” to include issuing, amending, and rescinding
“emergency proclamations and regulations,” which shall “have the force and effect of law as long
as the emergency exists”; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 25-1-440 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, when an
emergency has been declared, the undersigned is further authorized to “suspend provisions of
existing regulations prescribing procedures for conduct of state business if strict compliance with
the provisions thereof would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with
the emergency”; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the foregoing, section 25-1-440 of the South Carolina Code of
Laws, authorizes the undersigned, during a declared emergency, to “transfer the direction,
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March 27, 2020
personnel, or functions of state departments, agencies, and commissions, or units thereof, for
purposes of facilitating or performing emergency services as necessary or desirable,” and to
“compel performance by elected and appointed state, county, and municipal officials and
employees of the emergency duties and functions assigned them in the State Emergency Plan or
by Executive Order”; and
WHEREAS, as the elected Chief Executive of the State, the undersigned is further
authorized, pursuant to section 25-1-440 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, to “direct and
compel evacuation of all or part of the populace from any stricken or threatened area if this action
is considered necessary for the preservation of life or other emergency mitigation, response, or
recovery; to prescribe routes, modes of transportation, and destination in connection with
evacuation; and to control ingress and egress at an emergency area, the movement of persons
within the area, and the occupancy of premises therein”; and
WHEREAS, in the context of a public health emergency, section 25-1-440(e) of the South
Carolina Code of Laws, also “authorizes the deployment and use of any resources and personnel
including, but not limited to, local officers and employees qualified as first responders, to which
the plans apply and the use or distribution of any supplies, equipment, materials, and facilities
assembled, stockpiled, or arranged to be made available pursuant to this act”; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with section 16-7-10(A) of the South Carolina Code of Laws,
as amended, “[i]n any area designated by the Governor in his proclamation that a state of
emergency exists, and during the duration of the proclamation, it is unlawful for a person to: violate
a provision in the proclamation including, but not limited to, any curfew set forth by the
proclamation; congregate, unless authorized or in their homes, in groups of three or more and to
refuse to disperse upon order of a law enforcement officer; or wilfully fail or refuse to comply with
any lawful order or direction of any law enforcement officer”; and
WHEREAS, it is axiomatic that “[t]he health, welfare, and safety of the lives and property
of the people are beyond question matters of public concern, and reasonable regulations and laws
designed to preserve and protect the same are clearly contained in the police power inherent in the
sovereign,” 1980 S.C. Op. Att’y Gen. 142 (Sept. 5, 1980); and
WHEREAS, for the aforementioned and other reasons, and in recognition and furtherance
of the undersigned’s responsibility to provide for and ensure the health, safety, security, and
welfare of the people of the State of South Carolina during a declared emergency, and pursuant to
the cited authorities and other applicable law, the undersigned has determined that the evolving
public health threat posed by COVID-19 requires additional proactive action by the State of South
Carolina and the implementation and enforcement of further extraordinary measures to slow the
spread of COVID-19, minimize the strain on healthcare providers, and otherwise respond to and
mitigate the evolving public health threat posed by this emergency.
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of
South Carolina and pursuant to the Constitution and Laws of this State and the powers conferred
upon me therein, I hereby order and direct as follows:
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March 27, 2020
Section 1. Required Self-Quarantine for Individuals Entering South Carolina
from High-Risk Areas
To prepare for and respond to the ongoing and potential impacts associated with COVID19, and the evolving public health threat posed by the same, and to maintain peace and good order
during the State of Emergency, pursuant to the cited authorities and other applicable law, I hereby
determine, order, and direct as follows:
A. I hereby order and direct that an individual who enters the State of South Carolina
from an area with substantial community spread, to include the Tri-State Area (consisting of the
States of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) and the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, shall
isolate or self-quarantine for a period of fourteen (14) days from the time of entry into the State of
South Carolina or the duration of the individual’s presence in South Carolina, whichever period is
shorter. This Order shall not apply to individuals employed by airlines and individuals performing
or assisting with military, healthcare, or emergency response operations. Any individual required
by this Order, or any directives issued in connection therewith, to isolate or self-quarantine shall
be responsible for any and all costs associated with such isolation or self-quarantine, including
transportation, lodging, food, and medical care.
B. I hereby authorize and instruct the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (“DHEC”) to provide any necessary and appropriate supplemental
guidance regarding the interpretation, application, or enforcement of this Order.
Section 2. Enforcement
A. I hereby authorize any and all law enforcement officers of the State, or any political
subdivision thereof, to do whatever may be deemed necessary to maintain peace and good order
during the State of Emergency and to enforce the provisions of this Order and any prior or future
Orders issued by the undersigned in connection with the present State of Emergency.
B. Pursuant to section 16-7-10(A) of the South Carolina Code of Laws, any individual
who “refuse[s] to disperse upon order of a law enforcement officer,” “wilfully fail[s] or refuse[s]
to comply with any lawful order or direction of any law enforcement officer,” or otherwise violates
any provision of any Order issued by the undersigned in connection with the State of Emergency
“is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars
or imprisoned for not more than thirty days.”
C. In accordance with section 1-3-440(4) of the South Carolina Code of Laws, I further
authorize, order, and direct any State, county, or city official to enforce the provisions of this Order
and any prior or future Orders issued in connection with the present State of Emergency, as
necessary and appropriate, in the courts of the State by injunction, mandamus, or other appropriate
legal action.
D. In addition to the foregoing, I further authorize, order, and direct DHEC to exercise
and utilize any and all necessary and appropriate emergency powers, as set forth in the Emergency
Health Powers Act, codified as amended in Title 44, Chapter 4 of the South Carolina Code of
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March 27, 2020
Laws, to implement and enforce the provisions of this Order. In accordance with section 44-4-
500 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, DHEC shall continue to “use every available
means to prevent the transmission of infectious disease and to ensure that all cases of infectious
disease are subject to proper control and treatment.”
Section 3. General Provisions
A. This Order is not intended to create, and does not create, any individual right,
privilege, or benefit, whether substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the State of South Carolina, its agencies, departments, political subdivisions, or other
entities, or any officers, employees, or agents thereof, or any other person. If any section,
subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Order is for any
reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or
validity of the remaining portions of this Order, as the undersigned would have issued this Order,
and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and
word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs,
subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be
unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
B. If or to the extent that any political subdivision of this State seeks to adopt or
enforce a local ordinance, rule, regulation, or other restriction that conflicts with this Order, this
Order shall supersede and preempt any such local ordinance, rule, regulation, or other restriction.
C. This Order is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for the duration of
the State of Emergency unless otherwise modified, amended, or rescinded by subsequent Order.
Further proclamations, orders, and directives deemed necessary to ensure the fullest possible
protection of life and property during this State of Emergency shall be issued orally by the
undersigned and thereafter reduced to writing and published for dissemination within the
succeeding 24-hour period.
GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND THE
GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, THIS 27th DAY OF
MARCH, 2020.
HENRY MCMASTER
Governor
