New survey shows just how deeply COVID-19 is impacting people in metro Atlanta

ATLANTA — We’re seeing new data about how coronavirus is changing life in metro Atlanta.

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach got his hands on a new report released this morning.

Each year the Metro Atlanta Speaks Survey polls people across the region. It’s a 10-county area that includes city of Atlanta.

That data is then used to guide planning and decision making.

This year they geared many questions toward COVID-19, perceptions and how we’re all living with the pandemic.

For proof 2020 is like no other year, look at data being released this morning by the Atlanta Regional Commission.

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“To help inform strategies to address what life is going to be like with COVID,” said ARC’s Michael Carnathan.

Carnathan, manager of ARC’s research and analytics group, says they always ask the biggest challenge facing the region. And every year until now it’s been transportation.

But this year public health tops the list.

[RELATED: COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations soar in Georgia]

“But the fact that transportation fell off to number five as the most important issue was a little surprising to us because we’re just used to seeing transportation as the top issue. Obviously 2020 is different,” Carnathan.

This year 1 in 4 said they lost their job, while only 18-percent said they’d had no status change.

The same percentage, nearly 1 in 5, say they’ve visited a food bank to get by.

“The majority of the respondents, about 2 out of every 3 said they were furloughed, or laid off, or had reduced hours, or reduced pay,” Carnathan said.

And a third of workers say they’ve worked from home.

All of that data can now be put to use by companies and local governments to start conversations about the results.

“It’s you talking about it, thinking about, brainstorming about, and developing strategies to get us to a better place, to make better decisions,” Carnathan said.

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