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Greenville considers emergency measure to cancel festivals and gatherings of 50 or more - Greenville News

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This is not the summer of festivals in downtown Greenville.

While Independence Day fireworks were cancelled and next month's Artisphere is planning to go virtual only, Greenville city officials are considering new restrictions that could curtail public gatherings for the rest of the summer because of the ongoing threat of COVID-19.

Greenville County has had 7,137 cases of COVID-19 and 104 deaths related to it, according to data released Sunday by South Carolina's public health agency. Statistics from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control show that Greenville is a hot spot for the coronavirus.

An emergency measure officials will consider Monday afternoon would allow the city to temporarily stop issuing permits for gatherings involving 50 or more people.

The measure would authorize City Manager John McDonough to "deny, cancel and revoke" permits for events of that size, according to a proposal the city council will consider Monday. The measure would affect permits including those for special events as well as those gatherings' applications for beer, wine and liquor.

The restrictions could remain in place for the next 60 days unless the emergency measure is lifted sooner by the Greenville City Council. 

It was not immediately clear Monday morning how many already-permitted events could be shuttered.

The proposed emergency ordinance is related to a plan developed by the city's Department of Events and Cultural Affairs. The plan lays out phases and a series of conditions that must be met before Greenville is ready to reopen for large public gatherings. 

Under the department's proposal, even small events involving fewer than 50 people would be required to have a "COVID-19 action plan" that includes updated protocols for cleaning and details for measures to ensure social distancing.

Gatherings of 50 or more people are prohibited during Phase 1 of the department's plan.

The plan says that before moving to Phase 2 of the plan and allowing 250 people to publicly gather, "there would need to be a consistent decrease over a 14-day span in the number of" COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and percentage of people who are testing positive for it.

The city previously issued restrictions on public events in mid-March, at the time limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people because of COVID-19. Those emergency restrictions expired 60 days later, before the end of May.

On June 22, the city council unanimously approved an emergency measure requiring customers and workers in grocery stores and pharmacies to wear masks or face coverings.

Greenville was the first major city in South Carolina to enact a mask requirement. Columbia and Charleston soon followed.

Check back for more on this developing story.

Nikie Mayo is an investigative reporter with a focus on public safety. Reach her at nmayo@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @NikieMayo.

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