Beautiful, warm weather Thursday drew crowds to Tybee Island's beaches, which the city has now closed.

Beautiful, warm weather Thursday drew crowds to Tybee Island's beaches, which the city has now closed. / Visit Tybee on Facebook

Tybee Island's beaches are closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus following a busy day on the island, the city announced Thursday evening. Tybee's beaches are closed after a busy day Thursday.

With sunny skies, temperatures in the 80s and school out, many people flocked to Tybee's beaches and though its beaches are big, officials said groups of mostly young people were not keeping safe distances apart.

 

Crowds were similar to weekends in June, Tybee City Manager Shawn Gillen told reporters Friday. "This was a Thursday. Saturday is gonna be much nicer than it is today, and that's why we had to act now," he said.

 

Tybee Island leaders are also considering restricting access to the island, but that requires state approval and cooperation with several agencies. Officals then decided closing the beaches was a means to discourage visitors. Public alcohol consumption has also been banned.