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Sign of the times: Across Georgia, signage asks people to stay home

Wash your hands and please stay home, signs plead
By Courtney Kueppers
March 21, 2020

Across metro Atlanta, businesses have signs taped to their front doors announcing changes, mostly mandated by municipalities. The announcements on printer paper relay news of adjusted hours, the suspension of in-person dining or closure until further notice.

It’s all in an attempt to encourage people to stay away from each other. Just stay home, health and government officials are pleading with people in hopes of curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

A sampling of coronavirus-related signs seen at businesses in Midtown Atlanta on Thursday morning March 19, 2020. Ben@BenGray.com for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A sampling of coronavirus-related signs seen at businesses in Midtown Atlanta on Thursday morning March 19, 2020. Ben@BenGray.com for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

» COMPLETE COVERAGE: Coronavirus in Georgia

But distance doesn’t mean a lack of communication. Some businesses, schools and even the Georgia Department of Transportation are using billboards or marquees to convey coronavirus-related messages: a true sign of the times.

Last weekend, GDOT shared a picture of a message displayed above a mostly empty roadway.

“Please stay home,” the sign read in part. “Disinfect, wash hands.”

Elsewhere in the city, signs made similar pleas for people to wash their hands and to stop shaking hands with others.

A runner heads into the Krog Street tunnel Friday morning March 20, 2020 past signs that remind people to practice proper hygiene. Ben@BenGray.com for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A runner heads into the Krog Street tunnel Friday morning March 20, 2020 past signs that remind people to practice proper hygiene. Ben@BenGray.com for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

MORE: A map of coronavirus cases in Georgia

Officials entities like the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Dunwoody Police have also used signage to communicate and provide encouragement.

CDC electronic billboard in Smyrna from r/Atlanta

Schools have also swapped out usual announcements with “closed until further notice” messages.

March 18, 2020 Atlanta: A sign says it all to passing motorists at Murphey Candler Elementary School at 6775 S Goddard Road in Lithonia, DeKalb County on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the closure of all public elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools in Georgia that began Wednesday and will continue through the end of the month as the state scrambles to contain the coronavirus pandemic. School districts accounting for more than 1.7 million of Georgia’s 1.8 million students had already suspended classes, though some rural schools have remained open. And most Georgia colleges shifted to online coursework last week. Just over two weeks after the first confirmed coronavirus case in Georgia, much of the state is practicing social distancing, with restaurants, theaters and other social gathering places closing down or reducing hours in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM
March 18, 2020 Atlanta: A sign says it all to passing motorists at Murphey Candler Elementary School at 6775 S Goddard Road in Lithonia, DeKalb County on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the closure of all public elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools in Georgia that began Wednesday and will continue through the end of the month as the state scrambles to contain the coronavirus pandemic. School districts accounting for more than 1.7 million of Georgia’s 1.8 million students had already suspended classes, though some rural schools have remained open. And most Georgia colleges shifted to online coursework last week. Just over two weeks after the first confirmed coronavirus case in Georgia, much of the state is practicing social distancing, with restaurants, theaters and other social gathering places closing down or reducing hours in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

In Athens, the Georgia Theater used its marquee sign to announce the suspension of shows until further notice and asked people to keep up with personal hygiene.

A woman walks past the Georgia Theatre Friday, March 20, 2020, in downton Athens, Ga. A note posted on the theatre's door says they are close and all shows are postponed. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
A woman walks past the Georgia Theatre Friday, March 20, 2020, in downton Athens, Ga. A note posted on the theatre's door says they are close and all shows are postponed. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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