UPSTATE — Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative selected high school students earlier this year for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The students were to travel to Washington, D.C., in June and/or Columbia in July as part of experiences that connect students from across the state with government leaders.

The COVID-19 outbreak forced the cancellation of both in-person events. However, the students will still have the opportunity to connect with new friends and learn this summer. The state’s electric cooperatives will hold the Virtual Youth Experience June 19-26 through an internet-based video conferencing system.

Participating in the virtual experience will be Neleah Clough of

COLUMBIA — Pickens County’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was up to 164 as of Monday afternoon — an increase of 40 cases from the same day last week.

Six new cases reported Monday in Pickens County were part of nearly 300 new cases announced statewide by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The state was up to a confirmed 12,148 cases as of Monday afternoon, DHEC said.

Three people have died of COVID-19-related causes in Pickens County, while 500 had died across the state during the pandemic as of Monday, according to

By Jason Evans

Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

COUNTY — The third phase of Kickstart Pickens County, the county’s plan to reopen following the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now underway.

The third phase of the county’s plan to kickstart operations officially began on Monday.

Officials held a briefing Friday morning on the third phase of reopening.

Over the past few weeks, officials have taken “a measure, reasonable approach so we could be as safe as possible when we welcome you back in,” acting county administrator Ken Roper said.

“We’re excited about the potential of welcoming all of you back into our public spaces,” Roper said. “Phase 3 will be the new normal for the foreseeable future.”

Under this phase, in most instances, county buildings will be open “and the public will be welcomed back in,” he said.

But controls will still be in place, Roper said.

“Employees who have to deal directly with the public will have guards in place — sneeze guards and separation where possible,” he said.

Signage about social distancing will be located throughout buildings, Roper said.

The plan is designed to be adaptable, he said.

“If situations change, we have the ability to pretty adroitly go back to Phase 2, without a lot of drama,” Roper said. “The multi-phase approach gives us adaptability, department by department, as circumstances dictate.”

As the county reopens, “we want to make sure everybody continues their social distancing,” county emergency management deputy director Pierce Womack said.

“That seems to be the biggest help right now,” he said. “If you’re face to face with somebody, try to give that some space between you. Wash your hands frequently. Please use caution.”

Tasks may take longer as businesses limit the number of customers allowed in at a time, so build extra time into your schedule, Womack said.

First responders are among the county employees who will still be wearing masks, he said.

“Please don’t take that offensively,” Womack said. “We’re doing that for several reasons — to protect our folks and to continue to be able to give you the services that are needed. We don’t want to quarantine our staff or put that staff out of work, to not be able to give you the level of service that citizens deserve.”

Under Phase 3, “we are opening Mile Creek Park back up to full capacity,” county parks, recreation and tourism director Allison Fowler said.

“That’s new reservations, existing reservations, shelters, bathroom facilities, playground,” she said. “Everything is back open out there. The other two county parks are also open.”

The Pickens County Museum of Art and History resumed normal business hours in Phase 2 of Kickstart, she said.

“That will continue during Phase 3,” Fowler said. “We’re working to evaluate whether we can start allowing tours, workshops, the art classes. That’s kind of up to those instructors right now. You might see more information rolling out about those.”

The museum will continue offering virtual programming, she said.

“We’re still working to figure out exactly what that will look like with social distancing,” Fowler said.

The Pickens County Performing Arts Center’s next show is set for July 18, when it welcomes comedian James Gregory.

Human resources director Lisa Bryant said the county “did a lot of things to help protect our employees,” including rearranging offices to limit contact and having employees work remotely or on different schedules.

“All of that is kind of back to normal now — I should say our new normal,” she said. “Some of our office locations do look different. You’ll notice there are some tables and things to help promote social distancing throughout the building.”

As Phase 3 begins, “our main goal is to make sure our employees are safe, that we keep the public safe when they come into our building and that we provide the customer service we can provide,” Bryant said.

Adjustments may have to be made going forward, she said.

“Give us some grace, give us some patience and we’ll do the best that we can do to service our citizens of Pickens County,” Bryant said.

One question submitted during the briefing asked if someone would be monitoring the number of people going in and out of county facilities “to ensure we are keeping a safe capacity.”

Roper said risk manager Mike Hayes would be overseeing that, in addition to the county’s safety committee.

“We do have plans for that,” he said. “We’ll keep a wary eye on the circumstances.”