The coronavirus pandemic has brought a halt to tourism in Mathews, leading the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center to focus primarily on the “information” part of its mission—providing information to Mathews residents.

Director Emily Allen said MCVIC closed its retail space on March 17, but wanted to continue to be as useful as possible to the people in the county.

“No visitors are coming in, so 100 percent of our energy is going toward being helpful to residents,” she said.

In addition to lists of local restaurants that remain open and local events that have been canceled, the center’s website has links to various governmental and quasi-governmental websites that contain information on everything from the CARES Act to Google’s Ad Credits program to recommendations on cleaning and disinfecting.

The website provides ideas on how to support local businesses and provides a list of local businesses that have remained active in one way or another throughout the crisis...