Can Hilton Head Island close to tourists to slow the spread of coronavirus?
As efforts to practice social distancing ramp up across the United States in response to the spread of coronavirus, some on Hilton Head Island have been vocal about the ultimate form of social distancing — closing the duo of bridges to the island to prevent tourists from visiting.
The idea brings to some the promise of reduced chances of exposure and more resources, such as access to medical services, for residents. Invigorated by recent reports that the Outer Banks in North Carolina has closed itself off to the world, some have also suggested waivers for food and medicine delivery to Hilton Head.
But it’s not going to happen on Hilton Head, local officials say.
“It is not our choice to close” the bridge, Town Manager Steve Riley said Wednesday. “Moreover, I don’t have the resources to close it. You can’t just close it and trap everyone here and on the other side.”
The question was asked often enough that Riley addressed it first in a Wednesday afternoon video to residents.
Riley and Mayor John McCann said any decision to close a state road such as U.S. 278 must come from state officials — the Department of Transportation and Gov. Henry McMaster.
“We’re not closing the bridge because that’s not our bridge,” McCann said.
Riley said the Hilton Head bridges are outside the town’s jurisdiction — they are not within the Town of Hilton Head Island limits.
To slow the virus’ spread, a dozen of the 26 countries in Europe’s border-free Schengen zone are prohibiting entry to visitors, according to travel writer Tamara Thiessen in an article for Forbes.
The move ends “the right to free movement for many of the EU’s 400 million citizens, as well as tourists, business people and foreign residents,” Thiessen wrote.
Outer Banks closure
On Tuesday afternoon, the Wright Memorial Bridge onto the Outer Banks in North Carolina was closed to visitors by the Dare County Control Group, according to The Island Free Press. Access to the towns of Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and all of Hatteras Island was shut down.
Checkpoints were established at entry points to Dare County, and no visitors were allowed access after 2 p.m. Residents, non-resident property owners and non-resident employees of Dare, Corolla and Ocracoke counties will continue to be allowed entry throughout the closures.
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Residents, property owners and workers were issued entry permits to place on their dashboards so security personnel could see them without having to come in contact with each driver.
About 65,000 people live on the Outer Banks, according to the latest census data. Hilton Head Island has a permanent population of about 40,000.
Why is this different from hurricane preparation?
Some who want to see the island closed to visitors point to the ability to limit access on the bridge during natural disasters such as hurricanes.
“When we have a hurricane and we close that bridge, it’s under the governor’s orders,” Riley said Wednesday. “It’s with the assistance of state law enforcement supplementing county law enforcement and supplemented by the National Guard.”
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office typically leads the operations of limiting bridge traffic during weather events. Spokesperson Maj. Bob Bromage said Thursday that closing the bridge has “not been part of any discussions.”
He said the bridge is usually closed only when it is not safe to cross due to high winds.
Fewer people on Hilton Head?
Cancellation of events has already limited the number of people coming to Hilton Head.
On Tuesday, PGA Tour announced it would cancel RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, the golf event that brings over 100,000 people to Hilton Head each April.
Statewide hotel and airplane occupancy is also down.
Airlines use load factors to measure the percentage of available seating capacity that’s filled. For a flight with a capacity of 10, a load factor of 50% would mean there are passengers in five of the 10 available seats.
Load factors at the Hilton Head Island airport have “been very low” recently, dropping down into the 30% range, airports director Jon Rembold said.
Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport has seen about a 20% decrease between last week and this week, Savannah Airport Commission executive director Greg Kelly said.
He said the Savannah airport’s load factor is at 40% this week, and the national average for airports is between 40% to 70% right now.
Statewide hotel occupancy rates were down by 5.4% in the first week of March, according to Dawn Dawson-House, director of communications for South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
“Usually this time of year around March with spring break and (RBC) Heritage, we, especially on the coast, start moving into the 70% occupancy range,” she said on Tuesday. “Right now were hovering around 20%.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Can Hilton Head Island close to tourists to slow the spread of coronavirus?."
