Savannah’s mayor announced Tuesday that as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday residents must stay in their home except for essential activities like grocery shopping to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
Mayor Van Johnson has issued a shelter-in-place directive for the city of, which will be effective from midnight Wednesday to April 8, according to the Savannah Morning News.
According to the directive, residents are not allowed to leave their homes except for essential activities, governmental functions and business operations such as going to the grocery store. The mandate does allow for farmers markets, liquor stores and other businesses that sell groceries to remain open. Restaurant delivery will still be allowed.
Other operations listed as essential business includes liquor stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, food banks, convenience stores, stores that sell groceries and all city business offices. The directive also allows restaurant delivery to continue.
Johnson’s shelter-in-place order comes less than a day after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a similar stay-at-home order and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp limited large gatherings and put stricter limitations on the medically-fragile across the state. The governor, in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said an order that would have closed bars, night clubs and other recreational businesses would be to extreme.
“You have to have the citizens go with you when you make those moves. I certainly don’t feel like we’re there. I think that would have devastated a lot of people, literally decades of what they have built up. A lot of people are acting responsibly,” he said.
About the Author
