Fulton County District 6 Commissioner Joe Carn, Vice-Chair and District 5 Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington, Jr. and Fulton County District 4 Commissioner Natalie Hall will focus on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the communities they serve. The three members of the Fulton County Commission are scheduled to speak at a press conference on Monday, May 4, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. outside Grady Hospital, 36 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
“Our community needs clear and accurate information about the dangers of COVID-19 and additional funding on a block by block level to help flatten the curve in our community,” says District 6 Commissioner Joe Carn.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 83 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Georgia during the month of March were African American despite African Americans making up only 32 percent of the state’s population. Some medical experts have cited pre-existing health care disparities in communities of color as a key factor in these statistics.
To address these issues, prominent healthcare professionals including Dr. Shelby Wilkes from the Georgia State Medical Association, and Dr. Frank Jones, President of the Atlanta Medical Association will join the Fulton County Commissioners participating in this effort. They will be joined by doctors from the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, the CDC, Morehouse School of Medicine’s Department of Community Health as well as members of Concerned Black Clergy and Atlanta NAACP President Richard Rose. The group plans to emphasize the need to follow the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines, including wearing facial masks and other precautions to safeguard families and seniors against further community spread of the virus. Press conference attendees will practice social distancing at the event and field questions.