CLEVELAND – Over the weekend, local officials across Northeast Georgia again had to deal with the influx of people from outside the area.

In many cases, those visitors did not heed the closures of hiking trails and recreation areas.

During a called teleconference meeting Monday, the White County Commission heard from Sheriff Neal Walden and Emergency Management Agency Director David Murphy, who said they witnessed visitors ignoring the shutdown areas.

One of the areas shut down is the county’s Yonah Preserve trails and last Friday someone pried open the locked gate at the trailhead.

Murphy said the U.S. Forest Service had officers posted at Yonah Mountain and Raven Cliffs, turning around several vehicles.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Walden told commissioners.

Walden said if people from COVID-19 stricken areas around Atlanta come in and are arrested, they could infect White County’s jail and cost the county extra funds to isolate them.

White County still has only one COVID-19 confirmed case and Commission Chairman Travis Turner said he would like to keep it that way.

“If I was in Atlanta, I’d like to get out of Atlanta myself, however, they have been given an order to shelter in place,” Turner said. “Any other time we would like to see the tourism, but right now for the next 2 to 4 weeks stay at home and don’t bring it up here to us.”