10 First Responders Test Positive For Coronavirus Antibodies

ALPHARETTA, GA – Voluntary antibody testing of first responders in Alpharetta has found that 10 police officers and fire fighters have coronavirus antibodies, which indicates they were previously exposed to the COVID-19 virus, city officials announced Friday.

The positive antibody tests do not mean the first responders currently have COVID-19, only that their immune systems were triggered due to previous infection, according to a release on the city's website.

The 10 employees have undergone coronavirus testing and none have tested positive for the virus.

“The safety of the public and our employees is always our primary concern, and we follow all of the protocols recommended by public health agencies to help identify employees who are symptomatic of possible COVID-19 infection and remove them from the workplace,” said Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin in a prepared statement. "We decided it was important to provide voluntary antibody testing to our first responders, an employee group that would be at highest risk for exposure to the virus, to better understand how the virus may have spread, learn how effective our protective protocols have been, and help plan for future pandemics.”

Alpharetta was the first city in Georgia to provide antibody testing to first responders. The program had 127 of the city's 192 police officers and fire fighters voluntarily undergo testing.