Atlanta’s latest coronavirus updates: Thursday, April 9

A quick roundup of what's happening in metro Atlanta and what you may have missed

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Atlanta coronavirus updates
A woman and child go for a walk in Grant Park last week.

Photograph by Martha Williams

On Wednesday, the governor extended the statewide shelter in place order and the mayor authorized more money to help the homeless. Here’s your Thursday morning update:

• There are now 10,189 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia, 1,033 more than yesterday morning. 348 people have died, 21 more than yesterday morning. 2,082 have been hospitalized. 38,787 tests have been conducted. [GA Dept. of Public Health]

Amid nationwide reports that coronavirus is disproportionately sickening and killing black Americans, the state has begun releasing limited data on the race of Georgia coronavirus cases. While it does show that more black Georgians [20 percent] have been diagnosed than white Georgians [15 percent], 62 percent of cases are listed as “unknown” race. [GA Dept. of Public Health]

• Governor Kemp announced he would extend Georgia’s state of emergency through May 13 and the statewide shelter in place order through April 30. In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Kemp also ordered stricter cleaning and quarantine procedures in nursing homes and senior care facilities and banned short-term vacation rentals through the rest of the month. He also announced a partnership with Atlanta-based Ipsum Diagnostics to provide more coronavirus testing. [Office of the Governor]

• Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has authorized $1.5 million to help provide shelter for the homeless during the COVID-19 outbreak. [City of Atlanta]

• School districts in the metro area are weighing the dangers of increased COVID-19 spread and the need to distribute meals to students, many of whom are food insecure and depend on free school lunches. APS has began shifting to distributing a week’s worth of groceries once per week, while DeKalb County Schools are moving from a daily to three day per week distribution schedule. [AJC]

• Tonight, as part of the national #LightItBlue campaign, several downtown landmarks will be lit up in blue lights as a tribute to healthcare workers, including Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Peachtree Center, Colony Square, and more. [Atlanta Downtown]

• Tyler Perry paid for groceries during senior hour at 44 Kroger locations in metro Atlanta on Wednesday morning. He also paid for senior hour groceries at several Winn Dixie stores in New Orleans. [11 Alive]

• After a two-week closure, a few of Ford Fry’s restaurants—Little Rey, Superica (all Atlanta locations except the Battery), and No. 246—will reopen for takeout on April 13. [Press release]

• If you’re the type of person who has been fascinated by the graphics and trackers about COVID-19, you might be interested in Atlanta-based Sharecare’s COVID-19 dashboard, which maps out confirmed and historical cases internationally. [Sharecare]

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