COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said again Friday that his goal is reopen schools to in-person instruction starting next month.
McMaster was asked about the state's plan during a news conference where he announced that alcohol sales at bars and restaurants will be stopped after 11 p.m. each night to stop the spread of the coronavirus That goes into effect Saturday.
Currently, the state continues to see a spike in coronavirus cases, a trend that's being going on since the end of May and has accelerated in recent weeks. But McMaster said the plan is to still have schools.
"It's important to have schools be open for a variety of reasons," he said. It's not healthy for children to be out of school for emotional and learning reasons."
He said the state lost contact with thousands of students during the pandemic, and had sporadic contact with thousands more. Several major pediatrician groups came out this week saying children must return to face to face instruction in the fall in a safe way.
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McMaster said there are other considerations as well.
"People have to go to work, parents have to go to work, teachers have to go to work everybody wants to get this school started we have to be sure that we're doing so safely," McMaster said.
He did say that perhaps some considerations could be made for parents who are very concerned to send their child into that environment would have some type of option.