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Atlanta partnership with Fulton County will provide more COVID -19 tests

A person gets the swab with the COVID-19 test on her nose during a free test drive on the Good Samaritan Clinic’s parking lot. The Clinic offers free check with the results in 15 minutes on June 23, 2020, in Atlanta. MIGUEL MARTINEZ FOR THE AJC
A person gets the swab with the COVID-19 test on her nose during a free test drive on the Good Samaritan Clinic’s parking lot. The Clinic offers free check with the results in 15 minutes on June 23, 2020, in Atlanta. MIGUEL MARTINEZ FOR THE AJC
By Stephen Deere
Sept 21, 2020

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Monday announced a partnership with Fulton County to expand COVID-19 testing for at least 20,000 Atlanta residents.

In addition to the testing, the $7.7 million agreement will also hire more than 150 contact tracing support staff, and map demography trends for racial and ethnic disparities among those who have contracted the virus.

“This partnership will fund an unprecedented effort between the City of Atlanta and the Fulton County Board of Health to save lives and prevent the spread of this deadly virus,” Bottoms said in a press release. “Thank you to our partners for what will be a monumental step closer to flattening the curve in Atlanta.”

The city is in the second of its five phase reopening plan, which allows for gatherings of ten or fewer people, provided they practice social distancing. The city has a created a dashboard for its most recent data and metrics related to reopening, which can be viewed here.

The partnership between Atlanta and Fulton County is being funded by federal CARES Act money, a spokesman for Bottoms said.

About the Author

Stephen Deere covers Atlanta City Hall and Atlanta government.

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