The Atlanta City Council on Monday approved the donation of thousands of COVID-19 test kits and other protective supplies from the state of New York.
While the equipment was shipped to Atlanta in July, the City Council retroactively ratified that donation and OK’d the acceptance of any future supplies from New York through June 2021. The measure stated that future donations are “anticipated.”
As the number of coronavirus cases rose in Georgia, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 15 his state was sending an “initial delivery” of equipment to Atlanta at the request of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Those supplies included:
- 7,500 test kits
- 7,500 gowns
- 7,500 gloves
- 7,500 N95 masks
- 7,500 face shields
- 2.5 pallets of Styrofoam coolers
- 1,250 gallons of hand sanitizer
Officials have not announced what future donations Atlanta might receive from New York, which was once the national epicenter of the outbreak but saw a decrease in cases as Georgia’s numbers increased over the summer. During a briefing with Bottoms in July, Cuomo said New York had some breathing room to free up supplies.
“You have an open offer. Whatever you need,” Cuomo, who like Bottoms is a Democrat, said during the briefing. “We are also 100% behind you.”
Bottoms has pointed to the donation as an example of how officials across the country can work together to fight the coronavirus.
“I appreciate your offer to help and we certainly would be appreciative of that assistance," Bottoms said during the July briefing. At the time, she was engaged in a rift with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over the city’s coronavirus restrictions and mask mandate.
Cases in Fulton County have gone down since July, and Bottoms said recently she is hopeful they will continue to decrease. But she urged residents to remain vigilant and take precautions; in the last two weeks, over 1,300 people in Fulton tested positive for the virus.
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