At a press conference this Tuesday morning, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson excoriated citizens who aren’t observing social distancing “like it’s a weird game of hide and seek.”
Saying that while driving around, “Over the weekend I rode by various parks and I witnessed large gatherings of people playing team sports…. acting like it’s Picnic in the Park. This is not acceptable.”
Mayor Johnson said if the behavior continues, he will have no choice but to close all parks and institute a form of curfew. (Despite rumors to the contrary, no curfew is currently in effect.)
“If some of these cavalier attitudes and actions do not change and things do not improve quickly, please be assured dramatically more restrictive actions will be ordered,” the Mayor warned.
“Savannah could be shut down in a way never before seen in our history. Please, please, please, help us to help you.”
Johnson urged that the essential businesses who are still allowed to stay open to do a better job protecting employees from risk of infection.
He reiterated a previous observation that “Walmart has become the new club,” referring to too much socializing by customers at places of business.
The Mayor said that Savannah’s current 19 COVID-19 cases and two deaths as of this morning are “really a snapshot two weeks ago. We are living life two weeks behind the curve. What happens today we won’t see for another two weeks,” directly referencing “that foolishness in Forsyth Park” as a potential vector for future infections.
Johnson said that walking and exercising are fine, but “what we saw in Forsyth Park over the weekend was a party… my feeling is that people have been lulled into a false sense of security.”
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2020.
What is the mayor doing to provide transparency about the accessibility of testing for those without access to a primary care physician or without access to a car?
My sense is that the mayor does not have any control over testing. The CDC and the GADPH are managing testing. I personally remain confident that when more facilities are needed and stood up, Mayor Johnson will absolutely brief the citizenry.
Moreover, the bus system is still running. This also includes CAT Mobility. While not perfect and suffering from staffing setbacks, they are doing the best they can.
Haul these violators downtown and book them into jail, make them post bond and appear in court.
Why should all of the responsible residents of Savannah who are following the local ordinance regarding safe distance rules be punished because of a few violators? There will always be people that break the rules, and the violators should pay the consequences for their own actions.
As for myself I’m going nowhere except the grocery store once every 7-10 days, and out for a bike ride each evening. Other than that I’m following the rules staying home.
The only way that we are going to stop the spread of this is for people to stay away from potential carriers of the disease. And the only way to do that is to have no contact with anyone that is not absolutely necessary.
Be safe people, and be considerate of everyone’s safety and practice safe distancing rules, you may save the life of someone who is less healthy than you.