PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. — The Putnam County Sheriff's Office typically starts patrolling lakes Oconee and Sinclair sometime around Memorial Day.
This year, they began in mid-March because of the flocks of people visiting the lake.
"It's like a holiday weekend, every weekend," said Lt. Harry Luke with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. "We normally don't see them until later on in the summer. Now, we're seeing them everywhere."
Sheriff Howard Sills says it looked like the crowds you could see on July 4th -- not what you'd expect when there's a global pandemic.
"I've been working this lake since it was flooded in '79...and I've never seen the type of crowds that we've seen," Luke said.
Luke says they've pulled over boats that were packed with 12 to 14 people.
"And they're not from the same family," Luke added.
Another problem is people traveling from other states down to Lake Country. Luke says he pulled over a boat with some people from Michigan on Saturday.
"They came down here because they thought Georgia was open," Luke said. "They said Michigan was shut down so they all came down here."
It's not just people on the water, it's also people on the grounds.
This is what Putnam County Sheriff's Office pulled up to on Saturday.
Luke said a band was playing and up to 70 people were partying outside a condo on the lake. No one was practicing social distancing.
This is why Putnam County Sheriff's Office asks people to comply with COVID-19 precautions.
"Everybody thinks [COVID-19] is over," Luke said. "I stopped a boat with around 14 people on it yesterday and they said it's over. We're ready to have fun."
Luke says all they ask is that you stay six feet apart and in groups of less than 10. Deputies are giving verbal warnings to those who aren't abiding.
Luke says typically people comply. So far, they haven't cited anyone on the water, but they've had to cite three people on the lake grounds.
He added that they still want everyone to have fun, but safely by social distancing.
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