COVID-19: Fulton County Numbers Offer Glimpse of Impact

As of April 15, Sandy Springs accounted for 8.1 percent of the COVID-19 cases in Fulton County, according to health department data released by a county commissioner.

The Fulton County Board of Health data posted April 16 on Facebook by Commissioner Bob Ellis showed that between April 10 and April 15, the number of Sandy Springs residents contracting the coronavirus increased 47 percent, from 103 to 151.

Ellis told the AJT that elected officials in Fulton County had pushed for data broken down by cities and encountered “general resistance from the health department,” while also resolving concerns about privacy related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, usually referred to as HIPPA.

“Like all of this data we are getting, it’s not perfect but we should seek to have as much data as available and share it with the public,” said Ellis, who represents District 2, made up of Milton and Mountain Park, and parts of Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs.

Ellis also posted COVID-19 data broken down by zip code, which he said “is generally provided or taken from drivers licenses when the tests are done, and after a confirmed case, it is then reported back,” at least at the county level.

Both the Georgia Department of Public Health and DeKalb County Board of Health turned down AJT requests for COVID-19 data by zip code. Nancy Nydam, spokeswoman for the state agency, said April 13, “At this time we do not provide information by zip code because the numbers are too small in some zip codes, hence identifiable.”

According to data posted by the state, as of the evening of April 19, a total of 18,157 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been recorded in Georgia, resulting in 681 deaths, 3.75 percent of the total cases. At that time, 79,933 COVID-19 tests had been administered in Georgia, which has a population of slightly more than 10.6 million people, according to 2019 census data.

The state reported that Fulton County had recorded the largest number of confirmed cases, 2131, while the largest number of deaths, 89, came from Dougherty County, in Southwest Georgia.

According to the Fulton County data posted by Ellis, 43.8 percent of the COVID-19 cases came from the city of Atlanta, 24 percent from cities south of Atlanta, and 20 percent in cities north, while 12.3 percent were listed as either coming from an unincorporated portion of Fulton County or as unknown.

At the municipal level, Atlanta’s share of the county’s COVID-19 cases was followed by the city of South Fulton with 14.2 percent, and Sandy Springs with 8.1 percent.

Atlanta had the largest number of cases, 811, followed by South Fulton with 263 cases, and Sandy Springs with 151.

Among other municipalities north of Atlanta, Roswell had recorded 78 cases as of April 15, an increase of 28 percent from April 10; Johns Creek, 63 cases, an increase of 37 percent from five days earlier; and Alpharetta, 46 cases, up 39 percent in that period.

The zip codes north of Atlanta with the greatest number of cases as of April 15 were:

30342: 76 cases, up 73 percent from April 10

30022: 50 cases, up 47 percent

30327: 40 cases, up 25 percent

30076: 39 cases, up 34 percent

30328: 36 cases, up 44 percent

30350: 36 cases, up 50 percent

30075: 31 cases, up 24 percent