READ | Banned funerals, shuttered shops: Local leaders confront global virus

There are exceptions for the homeless and also things like activities related to health, outdoor exercise and trips to the grocery store. The order does not shut down parks or recreational draws like the Atlanta BeltLine.

Each city police department, along with county police officers and deputies, can enforce the violation, said Fulton County attorney Patrise Perkins-Hooker.

The board of health can normally do things like shut down a restaurant with roaches, but its powers swell during a pandemic — they can limit travel into or within Georgia, impose isolation, close any facility or require vaccination, according to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.

Coronavirus in Georgia | Get the latest coverage from The AJC by clicking here.

Though the meeting started with technology problems that made the public comment section mostly unintelligible, commissioners approved the $10 million — $4.5 million of which will support residents and fund meals for seniors, $1.5 million to get those homeless and possibly infected into beds, and $4 million to help small businesses and feed the hungry.

There are three sources for the money: $2.4 million came from the fund for county employees performance-based bonuses, $2.6 million was deferred debt service related to Grady, and $4 million by delaying bonds to fund a new animal shelter.

The allocation followed a jarring presentation from Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency officials on the possible death toll.

READ | Coronavirus causes changes to services throughout Fulton and cities

“That was one of the most sobering reports I have ever had in my life,” said Commissioner Liz Hausmann.

Doug Schuster, with emergency management firm Emergency Management Services International (EMSI), provided the best and worse case scenarios for several key variables in Fulton over the next two months. The projections, which account for how good of a job people do at social distancing, are based on Fulton already having 15% of the state’s cases and deaths.

Best case? Needing 20 ventilators, no hospital bed shortage and 215 deaths.

Worst case? A shortage of 128 ventilators, having no hospital beds for 721 sick folks and 602 people dying.

Among the most likely scenarios, Schuster said, was being short 480 hospital beds starting in a week. He said the county will likely be 75 ventilators short every day for a month, starting Monday.

READ | Resident at Cobb senior living facility tests positive for coronavirus

EMA Director Matthew Kallmyer said that if all this seems like an over-reaction but lives are saved, “that would be something we take pride in.”

John Haupert, the CEO of Grady Memorial Hospital, said their internal predictions show that Grady is set to lose $78 million due to the coronavirus.

“It puts Grady into a loss position. We haven’t seen that in years, but we haven’t had a pandemic either,” Haupert said.

Haupert warned commissioners that this might ripple out to their desks.

“I would not at this point rule out Grady needing to go to its two county partners for assistance,” he said.

Here are some graphs that @AFCEMA presented to the Fulton BOC giving projections for deaths and shortages of ventilators/hospital beds. pic.twitter.com/npPwCSJ1A1 — Ben Brasch (@ben_brasch) April 1, 2020

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