MACON, Ga. — Across Central Georgia, many cities and towns have declared a state of emergency because of coronavirus. Some of the emergency orders include curfews and bans on gatherings with ten or more people, but are cities and counties enforcing those orders?
"It's not going too well," Dublin Police Chief Tim Chatman said.
In March, the City of Dublin declared a state of emergency limiting non-essential travel from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and banning social gatherings. So far, Dublin Police Chief Tim Chatman says some people are not following the order.
"With that, with the curfew, we have actually issued over 100 tickets, nearly 200 tickets," Chatman said.
Chatman says a lot of young people are breaking the curfew, while churches are breaking the social gathering rule.
"We have to take this thing seriously because things are going to get worse before they get better," Chatman said,
Over in Fort Valley, Police Chief Lawrence Spurgeon says his officers have cited only three people for not following the emergency order.
"We had a person who was organizing a huge event, which is obviously a huge danger for everybody, but for the most part, it's been just a few of them," Spurgeon said.
Spurgeon says his department is focusing on educating people to keep them safe.
"This is one of those times when we just need to make sacrifices to make sure our fellow citizens are safe as well," Spurgeon said.
We also checked with The Washington County Sheriff's Office, who made a post on Facebook saying people were not following the emergency order.
"We are having issues with mainly the congregation of groups in different areas," Sheriff Joel Cochran said.
Cochran says his deputies have not issued any citations, but that might change.
"If it doesn't cease, we are going to be forced to start issuing citations and making an arrest if necessary," Cochran said.
In Dublin and Washington County, a citation can result in a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail.
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