Full Notification

April 30, 2020

Good afternoon to all residents and those who work on or visit Jekyll Island,

As we approach the expiration of the April 30 Shelter-in-Place Executive Order from the Governor, we anticipate an increase in visitation to Jekyll Island. Your health and safety are our top priority, and as such, we want to share with you the stringent safety measures being implemented around the island:

Signage
Throughout our JIA-operated facilities, hotel and campground properties, and many of our island restaurants and businesses, you’ll begin to see a variety of signage, as early as tomorrow. The signage will assist with providing peace of mind in what you can expect from our facilities while here. These signs reiterate CDC guidelines for health and safety practices, along with protocols being implemented and expectations from the Governor’s Executive Order for businesses and restaurants.

Occupancy
We understand that while the Shelter-in-Place order is lifted for most, we must balance the increased visitation with a cautious return to normal operations. As such, our hotels and the Jekyll Island campground will all be maintaining a 75% occupancy cap for the next several weeks to maintain this balance. This is a huge commitment I believe confirms the island-wide dedication to a higher level of special protection for our guests and residents. Jekyll has always been positioned as unique, natural and uncrowded, and the commitment of our lodging partners will allow us to promote aggressively and uniformly that even more public space per visitor is now available.

Facility Operations & Protocols
In respect to JIA facilities, we are implementing a “rolling return” to operations when we feel we can safely meet expectations for proper sanitization and social distancing guidelines. Some of our amenities will begin to reopen this weekend under limited operations and reduced occupancy. Others, including Mosaic and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, will not open until later in the month and will likely operate at a reduced occupancy for some time after that. Retail stores like Life is Good and Remember When will not open this weekend. We do not yet have an estimated opening date for Summer Waves or our playgrounds as, I’m sure you can imagine, these present more difficult sanitization and distancing challenges. The Jekyll Island Convention Center will also not be welcoming back its first group until June, and we do not anticipate being fully operational with all JIA facilities until at least then.

As these facilities begin to reopen, we will also be implementing many new employee protocols to ensure the well-being of both our staff and visitors. All staff that have contact with guests will be required to wear assigned masks and will be reminded of proper hygiene. Those who exhibit signs of illness will be required to stay home and seek medical attention. To further establish social distancing, many of our facilities will have plexiglass dividers placed at customer service counters. We will be continuing our use of hospital-grade disinfectants, increased sanitation of public surfaces including countertops, doorknobs and other areas throughout our facilities, and placement of hand sanitizing stations and pumps, as available.

These are very difficult days emotionally and financially throughout the United States with tremendous personal losses, and since JIA operations are required to be financially self-sustaining, the Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult for the Authority as well. 47% of our operational budget this year was dependent on our amenity revenues. Our revenues have been decimated, and even though we aggressively cut expenses, we were forced to furlough employees just like many businesses on Jekyll. More than 43% of the Authority’s employees, including executive leadership, have been furloughed. Consequently, while we are working to reopen some of our business operations, the Authority will have limited resources available to return to full operations for some time. This has been a challenging period for everyone, and we are doing our best to ensure those valued employees can again return to work. Until then, our phased approach will ensure enhanced sanitization of facilities as they reopen.

Beaches
At this time, Jekyll Island beaches remain open for exercise only, under the extended Administrative Order from the Department of Natural Resources, through Wednesday, May 6, at 11:59 p.m. The extended order prohibits the use of chairs, coolers, tents and umbrellas, groups over 10 people, and requires that all people must be at least 6 feet apart unless under the same household. Our park rangers continue to assist the Georgia State Patrol in enforcing these restrictions, and our beach pavilions, picnic areas and beach restroom facilities will remain closed alongside this order.

As always, we continue evaluating operations and will make adjustments based on any new CDC guidelines or government mandates. We will also continue to share these updates on our webpage and encourage you to stay updated here: www.jekyllisland.com/covid-19

Continue to know we are committed to your well-being and making Jekyll Island a place you feel confident living, working or visiting every day.

Sincerely,
C. Jones Hooks
Executive Director