WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The city of Warner Robins declared a state of emergency on Saturday morning due to coronavirus.
According to a news release, it's for the safety, health, and wellbeing of Warner Robins residents.
"I think it's probably about as basic as it could possibly be," Mayor Randy Toms said.
The declaration goes into effect at noon on Sunday.
The release says Toms issued the local emergency to prohibit gatherings of 10 or more people.
"It came about from some restaurants in the area that were packed and I was getting concerns about that," he said.
It's all in response to the Center for Disease Control's recommendation of social distancing.
"Just encourage people to do what we've been encouraging them to do all along, and that's to social distance," Toms said.
The release says restaurants are encouraged to use curb-side pick-up and take-out services.
"If we can be inconvenienced for a little while, and stay healthy, and keep our community healthy, then it's worth inconvenience," Toms said.
There is no curfew in place at this time.
"I just don't think a curfew is necessary. It's not like a tornado or hurricane. It's about staying a part right now," he said.
Toms says restaurants, daycares, and other facilities are not required to close.
"I think we're all in this together and I just wanted to put out a declaration to say that, 'Hey. We're a little bit more serious about it now because we don't want our residents to get sick'," Toms said.
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