Savannah Mayor Orders Bars Closed, Tours Stopped

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A deserted Savannah City Hall on St. Patrick's Day, typically one of the busiest days of the year. The Mayor now says bars and other businesses will need to close because of the coronavirus. / City of Savannah

Savannah's mayor has signed an emergency declaration limiting business in the city in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Mayor Van Johnson announced the decision during a special called meeting of the city council, held via a conference call.

"When we close businesses, we're also closing livelihoods," Johnson acknowledged, but stressed the importance of avoiding gatherings and close contact.

The order closes all bars and nightclubs not serving food, effective 8 a.m. Saturday. It also closes other businesses, including gyms, entertainment venues and other gathering places.

Restaurants may stay open but should reduce their dine-in capacity by 50 percent, focusing instead on take-out and delivery options. The declaration also makes metered parking spaces free for the first hour to facilitate take-out.

Tours will be stopped as well.

Johnson's declaration also requests funerals involving more than ten people be held graveside or postponed.

Savannah City Council will be able to approve or revoke the order at next Thursday's regular council meeting. Council members expressed support for Johnson's declaration, though some raised concerns about support for workers in the hospitality industry hit hardest by business closures.

The business shutdown came as Savannah's tourism industry is expecting a steep dropoff in visitors in the coming week. Hotel occupancy is expected to be below 29 percent on Friday, March 20, amounting to 9,097 visitors, according to projections by the Tourism Leadership Council. By Monday, occupancy is expected to drop below 12 percent, or 3,723 visitors. Those figures encompass all of Chatham County, including Tybee Island. Because they cover hotel guests, they do not include "day-trippers" or local participation in the tourism industry.

TLC, along with other industry groups in the Savannah area, has compiled a resource list for employees facing financial difficulty because of coronavirus shutdowns. There is reason for hope based on China's hospitality industry, TLC President Michael Owens said in an email to their network Thursday. Numbers from US hotel companies operating in China show "very positive trends" for business returning once the virus subsides, he added.

"This is good news for us. We know this is episodic," Owens wrote. "There is an end to this. Let's help each other and be there for our whole community as we get closer and closer to relief."