MONCKS CORNER, S.C.– (Monday, April 6, 2020)- Berkeley County is providing support for a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in Moncks Corner. The site officially opened and began operations today, April 6. Fetter Healthcare is operating the site with support from the County and the Town of Moncks Corner at the market pavilion in the Moncks Corner Recreation Complex.
The testing site will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will offer FREE priority testing to first responders and healthcare workers. The public can utilize the testing site; however, may be billed for the test if their insurance does not cover the costs. Appointments MUST be made in advance through a screening with Fetter Healthcare. To do so, visit http://fettercovid19screening.org. Walk-ins will NOT be allowed.
The South Carolina State Guard assisted in quickly setting-up the site this weekend along with support from the following agencies: Moncks Corner Fire Department, Moncks Corner Police Department, Town of Moncks Corner, and Berkeley County Government.
Governor’s Executive Order:
On Monday, April 6, Henry McMaster issued a “Home or Work” Order, effective April 7. The order mandates that South Carolinians must remain at home or work unless visiting family, exercising, or obtaining essential goods or services. Also, stores that remain open must have social distancing protocols in place including no more than five customers per 1,000 sq. feet or 20% of capacity. See the full order HERE.
Governor McMaster issued an Executive Order on Friday, April 3, ordering the closure of additional non-essential businesses, a number of which closed at 5 p.m. today, April 6. A full list of the Executive Orders can be found HERE.
Berkeley County Operations: For a full list of County operations and all news and updates related to COVID-19, visit berkeleycountysc.gov/covid19.
Berkeley County opened a citizens information line on Friday, April 3. The public can call 843-719-4800 to ask non-emergency-related questions about COVID-19 and Berkeley County operations. The line is available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Please call 911 for emergencies.
Berkeley County continues to restrict public access into County buildings and offices and is offering services to the public by telephone, email, and drop boxes Monday-Thursday. Berkeley County Government offices and facilities will be CLOSED to the public and employees on Friday, April 10, with the exception of the Berkeley County Landfill and Convenience Centers.
The full list below outlines operations of County departments Monday-Thursday.
OPEN:
- Berkeley County Airport
- Berkeley Animal Center
- No longer accepting owner turn-ins; no longer allowing children volunteers.
- Please make appointments on Facebook.
- Landfill and Convenience Centers
CLOSED: Employees are available via email and phone during normal business hours.
- Berkeley County Administration Building: drop boxes are available in the lobby or outside the building for payments, plans, and other documents for the following departments:
- Treasurer’s Office (drop box outside building)
- Delinquent Tax (drop box outside building)
- Auditors Office (drop box in the lobby)
- Planning and Zoning (drop box in the lobby)
- Real Property Services (drop box in the lobby)
- Permitting and Codes (drop box in the lobby)
- Register of Deeds (drop box in the lobby); has an essential limited public access plan in operation; for more information contact (843) 719-4084.
- Voters Registration and Elections Commission
- Blank forms available at the office and a secure drop box is set-up at the entrance.
- All Berkeley County offices located on Live Oak Drive
- All Berkeley County offices located in the Administration Building
- Berkeley County Water & Sanitation (BCWS)
- Coroner’s Office
- Cypress Gardens: all events have been canceled
- Libraries
- Veterans Affairs
COURTS:
- Clerk of Court: All court filings may be mailed in. The drive-thru at the Berkeley County Courthouse is open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will be accepting the following emergency filings ONLY: DSS, JU, DA and BW. All other Family Court Filings (except Family Court emergencies) and Circuit Court Filings may be dropped off at the front of the courthouse. Documents must be dropped off in an envelope and dated the drop off date. Please include your email address or mailing address for your copy of the documents to be returned to you.
- Summary Court bond hearings will be conducted at least once a day.
- General Sessions Court will be handling guilty pleas for the local jail on Monday and a half-day on Tuesday, upon Judge’s approval.
- Family Court will be hearing ONLY emergencies and statutory mandated hearings: domestic abuse, DSS probable cause; juvenile detention and bench warrant hearings. During this emergency time, documents may be filed by email for General Sessions and Family Court. Common Pleas will continue to follow the e-filing system. Documents filed by 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, shall be considered filed on that day. A lawyer may sign documents using “s/{typed name of lawyer},” a signature stamp, a scanned or other electronic version of the lawyer’s signature. If your filings have a filing fee, please mail in your documents with your form of payment. If your filings have no fees attached to said specific filing, please email your filings to the following clerks: (Family Court), (General Court)
- Probate Court: operating an alternative method for marriage license issuing. See full details HERE.
- Bond Court: Held once a day, at 8 a.m. COURT WILL NOT BE HELD AT 6:30 p.m. Attorneys and victims are asked to participate by phone, if possible. All bond hearings are by video-conferencing unless there are technical difficulties. BONDING COMPANIES should call the bond court to coordinate matters involving surety bonds. For questions, please call bond court at (843) 719-4549.
- All jury trials and traffic court cases will be rescheduled. The following hearings will still take place: Restraining orders and bond hearings. In addition, other non-jury trials including, but not limited to small claims, claim and deliveries, and public sales may continue at the discretion of the judge.
- All eviction proceedings will be halted unless it involves essential services and/or harm to person or property.
- You will not be allowed to enter the courthouse building unless you have a scheduled hearing and only at the designated time on your notice.
- Please appear for court with only your attorney (if applicable) and any necessary witnesses. Please do not bring your children.
- You may continue to file pleadings with the court. New document filings can be dropped off in the drop box located at each court or at the window at the entrance to the court on Live Oak Drive in Moncks Corner. Also, all documents can still be submitted by mail. Make sure you enclose a stamped/self-addressed envelope for your receipt and clocked copies. Please submit payment by money order or check. Make sure you include all relevant phone numbers with your filing.
- If possible, please make payments on traffic tickets via our internet portal. If you must pay in person, payment will only be taken at the window at our Moncks Corner location. If you are encountering symptoms associated with COVID-19, please contact the court prior to appearing for any court session. A decision on a continuance will be made on a case-by-case basis. Many hearings can and will be conducted by video-conferencing.
- Please contact our courts by telephone if you have any questions or if you are uncertain if your case has been continued. We will remain open during our regular business hours of 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. to answer your phone calls.
- Solicitor’s Office: Continuing to operate with a small crew working different shifts throughout the week, with nearly 100 percent of staff in both counties (Berkeley and Charleston) maintaining the ability to work from home. Both offices are closed to the public.
- The Court has planned three mornings of General Sessions Court in Charleston this week, (Monday, April 6; Wednesday, April 8; and Friday, April 10). Practice runs of virtual court in Berkeley County are scheduled to occur this week and actually start the week of April 13. Law enforcement in both counties have continued to work and remain available for emergencies.
- Continuing to take online and mail applications of both expungements and pre-trial interventions.
- Victim Advocates and Assistant Solicitors remain available for telephone and online consultations with victims, witnesses, law enforcement and attorneys.
- Applications for diversion programs and expungements are also available online at scsolicitor9.org.
Evictions/Foreclosures:
On March 19, S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Beatty ordered all Courts in the state to reschedule evictions and delay foreclosure proceedings through May 1. After that date, the moratorium will end and any evictions or foreclosures may proceed.
Follow the County’s Facebook and Twitter pages for all related news and updates.
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– Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office –
