The Georgia Department of Public Health stated that it had no records of guidance, instructions, or similar concerning the Department’s collection of the racial or ethnic identities of COVID-19 patients.

An Open Records Act to the Georgia Department of Public Health seeking agency directives and guidance addressing the agency’s failure to record the race or ethnicity of patients being tested or treated for COVID-19, which reduced the ability of national health experts to evaluate whether the virus is disproportionately affecting communities of color.