Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard has reimposed a mask mandate at the Cobb courthouse complex, due to the county being designated in the “high” category for COVID-19 transmission.
Cobb government made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that Leonard made the decision “reluctantly” and indicated “they will review trials and hearings moving forward.”
There was no indication in the message how long the mask mandate may be in place.
There was a link to CDC data tracking information by county and that shows that Cobb has a case rate of 233 per 100,000 people (100 cases per 100K is considered “high” community transmission).
The mandate applies to anyone entering Cobb courthouse buildings, including the Superior, State and Magistrate courts.
The Cobb message was posted on the county’s Facebook page and generated a barrage of negative comments, including claims that mask mandates don’t work.
Among those commenters is Salleigh Grubbs, head of the Cobb Republican Party, who wrote, “Ridiculous! Stop the madness!!”
Other commenters said cases are up because citizens aren’t wearing masks or taking the virus seriously.
“Y’all make it seem like you have to go in the courthouse. Fake outrage,” wrote another commenter.
Cobb County government lifted a mask mandate in March in other county indoor facilities.
In response to a question from East Cobb News about whether a county mandate may be reimposed, Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt said “not right now.”
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With COVID-19 case rates continuing to fall and new CDC guidance easing risk levels and other recommended restrictions, Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris has lifted the mask mandate for indoor county facilities.
In addition to government office buildings, that means that masks are also optional again at libraries, senior centers and indoor recreation buildings.
The mandate has been in place since the Omicron variant surge began in December.
Masks are still required inside Cobb courthouses, which are operating under a separate order from the Georgia Supreme Court.
An emergency declaration continues in Cobb, but the county issued a release Monday saying that too “is expected to be terminated this week based on the continuing trend of lower transmission rates in the county.”
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As it updated its guidance on masks on Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control also unveiled a new tool to gauge COVID-19 community transmission levels.
The COVID-19 Community Level tool can be searched for any county in the country, and it rates Cobb County in the medium category. That’s yellow in the map above, while green areas are low and orange areas are high.
Each category—high, medium and low—comes with a recommended set of prevention steps to take, and here’s what the CDC is saying about the medium level:
If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions
That’s continuing a steep fall from more than 2,500/100K in January at the peak of the Omicron surge.
The test positivity rate in Cobb also is nearing the desired threshold of 5 percent or lower. According to the CDC, it’s currently at 5.45 percent.
The CDC data also indicate that Cobb has 12.6 percent of hospital beds that are being used by COVID-19 patients, and that Cobb is averaging 15.7 COVID-related hospital admissions per 100,000 people.
That order, which continues through mid-March, continues the use of the county’s emergency operations plan and requires citizens attending commission meetings in person to wear masks and observe social-distancing protocols.
A separate mask mandate for indoor county facilities issued by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris is set to expire Monday. That mandate includes libraries and indoor recreation facilities.
Roughly 70 percent of the country falls in the low- and medium range in the new CDC calculations. In its new guidance, the CDC is recommending that only people living counties in the high range continue to wear masks indoors in public.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that regardless of where one lives that “if you are more comfortable wearing a mask, feel free to do so.”
But Cobb has never had a mask mandate for private businesses or other non-government entities, like Atlanta and several other Georgia cities.
The Cobb County School District also has not had a mask mandate for the current 2021-22 academic year. Most other metro Atlanta school districts are dropping mask mandates.
Cobb government officials said this week they will end COVID-19 tests at Jim Miller Park next Saturday, March 5.
Also next Saturday, the Cobb Emergency Management Agency and Cobb and Douglas Public Health will distribute free COVID-19 test kits from 2-4 p.m. at Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road).
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The rate of COVID-19 transmission in Cobb County is nearing a benchmark figure.
But Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said it’s not enough to end an emergency declaration she extended last week into March.
At the end of Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting, Cupid said that the 14-day average of COVID cases per 100,000 people in the county is now 246.
That’s a steep drop from more than 2,500 in January, at the peak of the Omicron surge.
But public health officials consider anything more than 100 cases per 100K a “high” rate of community spread.
“Shall we have rates that that fall below the rates of high transmission, I will be glad to end the order,” she said, adding that she’s also considering the burden on local hospitals.
Cupid didn’t have any specifics on that, but said that she understands public frustration over the order.
“I am no glutton for the punishment that I receive in the e-mails and calls that I get,” said Cupid, who in recent months has been publicly masked, and also tested positive for COVID earlier this month.
“I look forward to the day where I don’t have to wear this mask and we can see all of our county facilities full again.”
The order continues the use of the county’s emergency operations plan and requires citizens attending commission meetings in person to wear masks and observe social-distancing protocols.
A separate mask mandate for indoor county facilities issued by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris is set to expire Feb. 28. That mandate includes libraries and indoor recreation facilities.
Cupid said among the metrics she watches is the COVID test positivity rate—five percent is considered high—and indicated that the current rate in Cobb is around eight percent, also down from 22 percent at the start of February.
She said the emergency order could end before the renewed 30-day window, and that “the numbers are dropping, and I am very hopeful that day will be with us soon.”
Cupid did not say if she might issue another order if the case rates in Cobb go over 100.
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For more COVID data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, click here.
COVID case rates in Cobb County have fallen by roughly a half from what they were in late December and early January at the start of the Omicron surge.
As of Wednesday, Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Tuesday that the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people was 1,075, after peaking at nearly 2,000 around the first of the year.
“That’s definitely some good news, and we are we are heading in the right direction,” CDPH director Dr. Janet Memark told the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
But that number, she added, “is still very high.”
The “high” community spread threshold is 100/100K.
The death rate in Cobb also is starting to fall, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health daily COVID status report.
According to date of death figures, the peak was nine deaths on Jan. 14, when the 7-day moving average was nearly five a day. Eight more deaths were reported on Jan. 19. As of Jan. 24, the 7-day moving average is 2.1 deaths per day.
There have been 1,470 confirmed COVID deaths in Cobb since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.
The positivity rate in Cobb for PCR tests also remains high at 17.3 percent (5 percent is considered the high threshold for that metric), but that figure has gone down substantially, from around 30 percent at the Omicron peak.
While Wellstar Kennestone Hospital is off its overall peak, Memark said “we still have a lot of patients in the hospital with COVID-19” and the majority of them are not unvaccinated.
She didn’t provide specifics in her briefing to the commissioners.
As she has done during the pandemic, Memark urged members of the public to wear masks (“the best fitting that you can find”) when going out in the public, and to be vaccinated and boosted.
In Cobb County, the rate for fully vaccinated people is 60 percent, with 65 percent having had one dose. Those fully vaccinated and boosted are 43 percent.
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As she hinted last week, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has extended a declaration of emergency regarding COVID-19 until mid-February.
A current emergency declaration was to have expired on Friday. A message sent out by the county late Thursday afternoon said that the new order is “for another 30 days but will be reevaluated if the surge eases.”
She cited the continuing spread of the virus, and specifically the Omicron variant, and the impact to local hospitals for her new order.
“Cases remain well above high community spread, and until we get those numbers down we need to encourage residents to take precautions; to continue wearing masks, watching their distance, and washing their hands,” Cupid said. “Those precautions are outlined in this order.”
That’s still excessively beyond the “high” transmission threshold of 100 cases per 100K.
The order keeps the county’s emergency operations plan in place and calls for continuing portions of public meetings online.
That includes a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session and regular meeting next Tuesday.
The county statement Thursday said that mask requirements and social distancing guidelines that have been in effect in county government facilities will expire at the end of the month.
But “that could also change if circumstances warrant it.”
The mask mandate applies to all indoor county facilities, including libraries and recreation centers.
It does not apply to private or non-county buildings, nor the Cobb County School District.
County courthouses continue to operate under a mask mandate ordered by the Georgia Supreme Court.
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After a week and a half of classes in the spring semester, the Cobb County School District has not updated its COVID-19 case data.
Each Friday during the 2020-21 school year and in the fall semester of 2021, the district revised those figures each Friday, with breakdowns according to each school.
But for the last two Fridays, those numbers have not been provided on the district’s COVID Case Notification page.
Instead, the page shows it was last updated on Dec. 17, 2021, the last day of the fall semester, with a figure of 6,709 cumulative cases reported among students and staff since July 1, 2021.
In December, Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the district was changing some of its COVID protocols, including eliminating much of its contact-tracing and revising procedures for staff quarantine if they’re identified as close contacts.
At a Cobb school board meeting, Ragsdale didn’t reference how the district may be counting and publicly reporting COVID cases.
On Friday, East Cobb News asked the district about the status of keeping those figures current.
A spokeswoman responded by saying only that “recent changes to our public health protocols, and their impact on accurate COVID-19 case counts, are under review. Once determined, we will provide an update on our COVID-19 webpage about what process we will use going forward.”
That’s the same answer she has given to other news outlets.
Nearly two years into the pandemic, and the highly infectious Omicron variant is yielding record transmission levels in Cobb, Georgia and elsewhere.
As of Friday, the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people in Cobb County was around 2,500, far higher than the “high” transmission rate of 100/100K.
Those figures are not broken down by public school district or private schools.
The single-day high recently reported in Cobb was 252 on Dec. 30; on Jan. 12, the number was 171, part of a downward trend that’s generally dipping below 200.
The spring semester resumes on Tuesday. The COVID protocol changes may be discussed Thursday at Cobb school board meetings, which are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and include time for public comment.
Agendas for the meetings will be posted at this link on Tuesday.
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To watch the Cobb COVID-19 virtual town hall on Thursday, click here.
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said Friday that the COVID-19 state of emergency she declared that’s set to expire next week will likely be extended into February.
During a special-called virtual meeting of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, Cupid said that unless there’s a “marked decrease” of virus transmission in the county, she’ll extend the 30-day emergency declaration she issued on Dec. 22.
That’s due to end next Friday, Jan. 21, but COVID-19 cases have spiraled since then due to the Omicron variant.
As of Friday, Cobb and Douglas Public Health reported that the 14-day average is 2,536 cases per 100,000 people, far above the “high” transmission threshold of 100 cases/100K
Friday’s number is slightly down from earlier in the week, but the transmission rates remain at record levels.
During the virtual meeting Friday, commissioners were briefed by Cobb and Douglas Public Health Director Dr. Janet Memark and WellStar’s Medical Director of Infectious Disease, Dr. Danny Branstetter (see video link at the bottom).
They appeared with Cupid Thursday on a virtual town hall, and continued to urge the public to wear masks and get vaccinated, including boosters, to protect themselves and others from infection and serious illness or worse.
Branstetter said Wellstar Kennestone Hospital is seeing fewer COVID-related hospitalizations this week, but the numbers remain especially high.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Cobb has 440,378 people “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, or 59 percent of the eligible population. Another 481,527 people, or 64 percent, have received one dose. A total of 173,931 people, or 23 percent, have received booster shots.
The Cobb emergency declaration enables the county to utilize a response plan. Cupid called for commissioners meetings to go virtual this week.
County Manager Jackie McMorris also has reimposed a mask mandate at indoor county facilities and has placed social-distancing limits in some instances, including the county’s aquatic centers.
That’s put a limit on spectators to watch high school swimming meets, prompting an online petition started by a Walton High School swimmer.
Commissioners were inundated with e-mails, but Cupid continues to defend the decision in the name of public health and safety.
Earlier this week commissioners confirmed an $813,000 Cobb Emergency Management Agency purchase of 60,000 COVID test kits with the last of its federal CARES Act funding.
A distribution event was to have taken place Monday at Jim Miller Park but is being delayed with a winter weather forecast starting Sunday.
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For more details of this weekend’s winter weather advisory, click here.
With winter weather in the forecast early next week, Cobb County government is delaying a planned COVID test distribution event that had been scheduled for Monday.
The county put out a statement late Thursday afternoon saying that Cobb DOT crews were preparing for a mixture of snow and ice that are in the forecast for Sunday morning.
Temperatures aren’t expected to reach much above freezing Sunday, with a 100 percent chance of precipitation in the forecast that includes the possibility of snow, ice or a combination.
Monday’s forecast is partly sunny with highs only in the high 30s.
That’s the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and Cobb officials were planning the use the occasion to distribute free COVID tests at Jim Miller Park, followed by the official holiday observance with the Cobb NAACP that has been moved to a virtual setting.
But the county statement Thursday said that the distribution is being postponed to later in the week.
Cobb commissioners will be meeting Monday at 9 a.m. in a special-called virtual meeting to receive a COVID update from Cobb and Douglas Public Health and the Wellstar Health System. That meeting will be live-streamed on the county’s YouTube channel.
Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt said DOT crews will begin pre-treating some bridges, overpasses and “known trouble spots” around the county starting at 6 p.m. Saturday.
He said crews will maintain shifts “around the clock” into Monday to respond.
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Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark.
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will conduct a virtual town hall Thursday to discuss the county’s response to the latest COVID-19 surge.
She will be joined Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark and WellStar’s Medical Director of Infectious Disease, Dr. Danny Branstetter starting at 6:30 p.m.
The town hall will be live-streamed on the county’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Citizens can ask questions during the meeting or in advance by e-mailing: comments@cobbcounty.org.
On Tuesday, Memark briefed the Cobb Board of Commissioners about skyrocketing COVID-19 metrics, including a current 14-day average of 2,657 cases per 100,000 people.
That’s far above the “high” transmission threshold of 100/100K, and Memark attributed that to the fast-moving Omicron variant.
While many of the symptoms of that variant are milder than previous versions of the virus, she said local hospitalization capacity is being strained.
Cupid, who declared a state of emergency through Jan. 22, defended the county’s decision to limit attendance at county-run aquatic centers for high school swimming meets.
Commissioners have received a high volume of e-mails complaining that family members aren’t being allowed inside to watch the competition.
“We do feel for the parents who have been impacted,” she said during a virtual meeting, in which she was masked but was the only commissioner in attendance in the board’s public meeting room.
“We’re hoping to get through this and reduce that very high number. We can share numbers with you, but the most compelling are the experiences we are seeing and feeling in real time.
“People are still experiencing impacts . . . long COVID due to the Omicron variant. These are not conditions that we want anyone to experience. We’ve also got to think about our health care infrastructure.”
(You can watch Memark’s presentation by clicking here; it’s at the beginning of the meeting.)
Memark outlined extra testing efforts, including additional sites for the public to get tested. She also urged those unvaccinated to do so, including booster shots.
Cobb’s “fully vaccinated” population is only 58 percent, with 64 percent having had at least an initial dose and only 20 percent boosted.
More testing and vaccination information from Cobb and Douglas Public Health by clicking here.
Cupid said more information about 60,000 at-home test kits ordered last week by the Cobb Emergency Management Agency will be coming later this week. There will be a distribution event from 8-10 a.m. Monday at Jim Miller Park.
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After Cobb commissioners got an e-mail deluge from high school swimmers and their parents over the weekend about capacity limits at aquatic centers, Chairwoman Lisa Cupid isn’t budging from restrictions designed to combat a COVID-19 surge.
Cupid issued a statement Monday saying that capacity limits at indoor county facilities include the county-run aquatic centers, and that they are necessary.
“As the mother of student-athletes, I understand the frustration from not being able to watch your children compete,” Cupid said in the statement.
“However, public health leaders have impressed upon me now is not the time to have large groups gathering together in confined spaces during this record COVID surge. Our local hospitals are nearing a breaking point, and our staff has been severely impacted due to rising cases in the county.”
Charles Barry, a junior swimmer at Walton High School, began an online petition drive over the weekend to protest the capacity limits, and his campaign is approaching nearly 2,000 signatures.
Cobb high school swimming meets regularly take place at two county-owned aquatic centers that are rented by the Cobb County School District for those events.
The restrictions were to limit total capacity to 100 people, but increases were allowed for meets over the weekend.
According to county spokesman Ross Cavitt, the largest, Mountain View, was limited to 160 people, and a maximum of 125 people were allowed at the Central Aquatic Center in Marietta.
Cupid declared a state of emergency on Dec. 22 to run through Jan. 21. That includes a mask mandate at indoor county facilities and social-distancing limits, but Cavitt said the aquatic center capacity restrictions “are not directly tied to the emergency declaration.”
In a message Sunday to East Cobb News, Barry said that “multiple people are in full support of removing the capacity limits and think that they are ridiculous and put swimmers at a disadvantage.”
He said the swim teams only found out on Thursday about the limits, which he said don’t affect practices but are “dramatically affecting meets.
“The meets are limited in capacity which causes people to sit outside in the freezing cold during meets, or separate the meets by boys and girls, or even have coaches cut the amount of swimmers,” Barry said.
He added that Walton’s combined boys and girls team includes around 100 swimmers. “It is absurd that they are limiting this because it is causing our meets to not run normally and not run how they should be.”
The Cobb County varsity and junior varsity swimming championships will be contested Jan. 20-21 at the Mountain View and Central aquatic centers.
Cupid said in her statement that the county parks director “has been in contact with Cobb school athletic directors who assured him they will be able to continue holding swim meets with the social distancing requirements in place.”
In the same statement, Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris said that “while it’s a difficult time for everyone . . . proper social distancing and reducing the number of people inside confined facilities at these events will enable us to keep the facilities’ doors open.”
A parent signing the petition complained her son, a senior swimmer, “was already cheated out a normal junior year season with all the mandates and no spectators in 2020-2021 and now he is being cheated out of having a complete normal senior season.
“He is a team captain and being a full team is what drives these kids’ spirit. Let these kids finish their season strong!”
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COVID-19 testing sites, including one at East Cobb UMC, have been overwhelmed since December.
Cobb County government said late Friday it plans to distribute more than 60,000 COVID-19 at-home testing kits paid for with federal CARES Act funding, and could spend more to purchase more tests.
A release sent out by county spokesman Ross Cavitt said that Cobb commissioners will be asked Tuesday to ratify a decision by the Cobb Emergency Management Agency to spend $816,480 in CARES Act funds for the tests, which cost $13.50 each (agenda item here).
He said that “the goal is to target segments of the community where people have had difficulty accessing testing” and that the aim is to have distribution events in each of the four Cobb commission districts, “along with help from nonprofits, churches, and other groups to get these COVID self-test kits to those in the county who need them the most.”
Commissioners will be meeting in a virtual setting next week, including their Tuesday morning business meeting. That meeting, which starts at 9 a.m., will begin with a COVID-19 update from Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who switched the meetings to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 spike, has declared a state of emergency in the county through Jan. 22.
Earlier this week, Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard halted jury trials through Jan. 21 due to rising COVID-19 transmission.
Cavitt said that county leaders want to receive the kits and hold a distribution event on the Martin Luther King holiday on Jan. 16.
“County and Public Health officials are working with the Cobb County NAACP chapter to finalize details of the event,” Cavitt said.
In the release, Cupid was quoted as saying that “we have the resources to be able to help many of our residents who have told us getting tested for COVID has been a challenge. So it makes sense to use these federal relief funds to help distribute test kits to help contain the spread of COVID in Cobb.”
Cavitt said the Cobb Emergency Management Agency will store the kits “while a plan to distribute them across the county comes into focus.”
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Testing sites, including one at East Cobb UMC, have been overwhelmed since December.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health has opened two more places to get a COVID-19 test in Cobb County.
Jim Miller Park (1295 Al Bishop Drive, Marietta) is conducting testing from 8-6 Monday-Friday and 8-3 Saturday. Enter at Gate 1.
You must schedule an appointment in advance and can do so by clicking here.
The hours for the new spot at Kennesaw State University (3305 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw, in the old Brandsmart space) are 8-4 Monday-Friday and noon-4 Saturday and Sunday.
Registration is encouraged but not required and can be done by clicking here.
The tests are PCR only, and there no walk-up costs, but your insurance will be billed.
Those new locations have been added as COVID-19 case counts surge to their highest levels since the pandemic began due largely to the Omicron variant and as school resumes after the holidays.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health said the 14-day average of cases in Cobb is at 2,468 per 100,000, far above the 100/100K high transmission threshold.
According to the CDC, the Cobb test positivity rate over the last 7 days, more than 10,000 cases have been reported, and the test positivity rate has been more than 37 percent (5 percent or higher are considered high).
Later on Wednesday, Cobb and Douglas Public Health Director Dr. Janet Memark sent out a message imploring citizens who haven’t done so to get vaccinated.
She said hospitals are becoming strained and while the Omicron variant typically comes with milder symptoms, “it is much more infectious, and these are still those people who will get seriously ill. It has been able to even evade some of our immune and vaccine protection against transmission of the virus. These mutations have given it the ability to infect more people much faster.
“With tens of thousands of people sick at the same time, even a small percentage of those who get sick enough to go to the hospital can still be a large number and overwhelm the health system that we have in place.”
Private and public testing sites have been inundated with people wanting to get tested, and the public health agency said that long wait times at the sites are to be expected.
Test results are typically available 24-72 hours after the test.
The agency also has been conducting PCR testing at the Wellstar East Cobb Health Park (3747 Roswell Road) in a drive-through format. Hours are 9-4 Monday-Friday and 10-2 Saturday-Sunday.
You’re encouraged to sign up in advance by clicking here, and your insurance will be billed.
Private testing locations are listed here; and Cobb and Douglas Public Health has more COVID-19 testing, vaccination and other related information here.
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Long lines formed in December 2021 at a COVID testing spot at East Cobb United Methodist Church.
The year 2021 is ending in similar fashion to how it began: With a surge in COVID-19 cases that prompted calls for precautions, testing, vaccination and masking.
The Omicron variant that was sweeping through the United States as the Christmas holiday season approached was the third wave of the virus to take a toll on Cobb and elsewhere this year.
Long lines formed at testing locations, including East Cobb United Methodist Church, after Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid declared a COVID emergency for the fourth time in 2021.
That was on Dec. 22, when the case rates had jumped by more than 150 percent in a week. County buildings are also under an indoor mask mandate until Jan. 22, 2022.
Currently, the transmission rate of the virus in Cobb averaged 805 per 100,000 people, far above the “high” threshold of 100 per 100K.
Indeed, more than 1,000 cases in Cobb were reported each on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, well above the highest reported date during the January 2021 surge.
Wednesday’s 1,865 reported cases is the highest single-day total in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020, and comes as county officials are advising more precautions through the holidays.
Cobb COVID-19 cases are on a surge for the third time in 2021. For more data from the Georgia Department of Health, click here.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark is urging the public to limit indoor gatherings or to wear masks when they cannot avoid large crowds inside (see video interview with Cupid below, taped at the beginning of this week).
She also noted that only 58 percent of eligible adults and children in Cobb are considered “fully vaccinated,” and fewer than 20 percent have received booster shots.
Due to long testing lines she said that anyone who feels sick or has COVID-19 symptoms should skip that step, presume they have the virus and begin an isolation period.
As the 2021-22 school year began, the Cobb County School District announced a masks-optional policy that prompted protests on both sides of the issue.
Parents, teachers, staff and others gathered at the district’s main office before school meetings to either demand a mask mandate that was in place the previous school year, or to keep them relaxed.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale came under fire from the Cobb Board of Health as an early fall surge due to the Delta variant prompted demands for a mask mandate.
A special board meeting in September urged “universal masking” in schools following CDC guidance. Ragsdale, a member of the board, abstained, but the decision carried no mandates.
Cobb schools have remained masks-optional, and four parents of medically fragile children filed a federal lawsuit against the district. In October, their request for a temporary injunction to force the district to follow CDC guidelines was denied.
At the same time, Cobb school board member David Banks sent an e-mail on his official account discouraging recipients from getting the COVID-19 vaccines. Banks never publicly responded to requests for comment, but he’s been criticized previously for explaining that he doesn’t wear masks because he thinks they don’t work.
Cobb County government COVID responses weren’t fraught with that kind of drama.
During three previous emergency declarations, Cobb government required mask use in indoor buildings and socially distanced at public meetings.
In December 2021 Cobb commissioners allocated the last of the county’s $133 million in funding from the federal CARES Act, spending most of the final monies to assist small business and to pay for protective equipment and other items for first responders.
The county used some previous funding to open a vaccine call center for several months. For several months Jim Miller Park served as mass vaccination center; Cobb and Douglas Public Health continues to provide free vaccinations at its main clinics.
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in Cobb stumbled a bit in January, as a website created to book appointments and provide basic information crashed upon launch, leaving anxious seniors and medically fragile candidates for the shots frustrated, especially as the initial supplies of vaccines ran out.
As of Dec. 29, 435,286 Cobb County residents were fully vaccinated, 475,777 have had at least one dose and 147,491 have received boosters.
Since March 2020, there have been 97,398 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Cobb County, and 1,346 confirmed deaths.
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The director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Tuesday that the spread of COVID-19 in Cobb County has rapidly increased over the last week.
In an e-mail message, Dr. Janet Memark said the current transmission rate of COVID-19 is 348 per 100,000 people, well beyond the “high” threshold of 100/100K.
That number—which includes both PCR and Antigen tests—was in the low 200s at the end of last week, and Cobb briefly dipped to the high 80s a week ago.
Memark said in an interview recorded Tuesday by Cobb County government (see video at bottom) that the percentage of sequenced Omicron cases in the Southeast have shot up from three percent a week ago to 95 percent now.
“This is definitely one of the fastest things that I’ve ever seen,” she said.
The test positivity rate for COVID-19 also has jumped quickly, from around 5 percent at the end of last week—a figure that public health officials have said is a threshold of concern—to more than 11 percent as of Tuesday.
“Hospitalizations have continued to rise over the last month,” said Memark. “We are not at levels like our first two large surges, but we do see steady increases, and the hospitals remain busy. Reports are that the majority of folks hospitalized continue to be unvaccinated.”
CDC data as of Tuesday indicated that there have been 1,959 new cases of COVID-19 in Cobb over the last seven days, representing an increase of 154 percent over the last week.
There also have been 86 COVID-related hospital admissions and 14 deaths in that time in the county, according to the CDC figures.
Memark said that while Omicron transmission is very fast, that the symptoms thus far are milder than the previous Delta variant and the original COVID-19 virus.
“Right now we’re trying to keep this down as best we can,” she said in the video. “My fear is we’re going to have so many more people infected that we’re going to have a surge in the hospitalizations as well, and that’s one of our greatest concerns.”
Memark urged citizens to get boosters for their vaccines, not to gather with others if they are sick, to wear masks in public and avoid crowds, in particular to avoid pressures on hospitals.
“This is not easy to do during the holidays, but we hope that this will pass quickly, and we don’t have too many seriously sick,” said Memark, adding that most of those hospitalized are not vaccinated.
The Omicron variant has spread rapidly since its identification a month ago to the World Health Organization, and is considered the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S., making up more than 70 percent of new cases.
Many of those cases are occurring in the Northeast and Midwest states, which has some of the highest increases in the country despite having some of the highest vaccination rates.
Memark said less than 15 percent, however, have received booster shots. “Getting your booster shot for COVID-19 will help boost your antibodies,” she said. “Please do this.”
Cobb and Douglas Public Health continues to offer free COVID-19 tests and vaccines. For information and to book appointments, please click here.
Wellstar chief pediatric officer Dr. Avril Beckford, executive director of Health Parks and Pediatric Center Hunter Carlson, and Hunter’s family celebrate after two of his children are vaccinated. Source: Wellstar Health System
Wellstar Health System has begun administering COVID-19 vaccinations to children between the ages of 5-11 in a special clinic period continuing through January 2022.
In a news release issued Tuesday, Wellstar said that the clinics, which began in early November for existing system patients, have booked more than 2,000 appointments through January.
The clinics are taking place at two Wellstar facilities, including the East Cobb Health Park (3747 Roswell Road).
“We are incredibly excited by the high demand and interest in pediatric vaccinations and proud of the families who have taken the important step to vaccinate their children to offer some of our youngest patients protection against COVID,” Dr. Avril Beckford, chief pediatric officer for Wellstar Health System, said in the release.
The clinics include waiting rooms for families and parents can schedule follow-up visits, including second vaccine doses, as well as other immunizations.
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Cobb COVID-19 case rates compiled by the Georgia Department of Public Health. For more details click here.
As of midnight Wednesday there will be no longer a mask mandate in most Cobb County government buildings.
The county announced Tuesday that a COVID-19 emergency declaration issued by Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid would expire, along with a mask mandate.
The mandate included all indoor county facilities, including libraries.
However, a mask mandate will still be in place at county courthouse buildings, according to county spokesman Ross Cavitt.
He quoted Cupid in statement saying that “although the transmission levels of COVID-19 are still considered high, Public Health officials say they are declining along with the number of newly reported cases and the test positivity rate. One of my biggest concerns was the effect on our local hospitals, but WellStar reports low levels of COVID cases and they recently transitioned to “green” status, meaning that beds are vacant and visitors are again allowed in the hospital.”
During that time, attendance was limited at public meetings, including commissioners meetings.
As of Tuesday 14-day average of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in Cobb County is 112. An average of 100 or higher is considered a high rate of transmission.
The test positivity rate in Cobb County is 4.33 percent, under the 5 percent threshold cited by public health officials as a concern.
Citizens using Cobb County buildings are still encouraged to wear masks, and the county statement said that “The Chairwoman indicated she would remain in contact with Public Health officials who remain concerned that colder weather and the holidays could reignite a surge.”
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Wellstar Health System, one of the largest and most integrated health systems in Georgia, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that it is expanding access to COVID-19 monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies at several of its eleven existing infusion locations, with Wellstar Cherokee Health Park being the first Wellstar facility to launch this program. Wellstar is the first healthcare provider in Georgia to join the mAb Health Equity Initiative.
Wellstar Health System is first expanding access to the mAb infusion treatment for eligible patients at Wellstar Cherokee Health Park, effective October 29, with additional locations rolling out in the coming weeks. With the expansion, Wellstar will be able to substantially increase the total number of patients receiving the therapy. Patients can receive the mAb treatment at Wellstar Cherokee Health Park location seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. To confirm eligibility for the treatment and book an appointment, patients should contact 770-956-STAR (770-956-7827).
If administered within 10 days of the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, the one-time therapy – administered through infusion – has been shown to be highly effective in neutralizing the virus and preventing symptoms from worsening. MAb treatment is used to help prevent the progression of the disease that might otherwise require hospitalization for people who are at high risk for developing severe COVID-19 illness and have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus or are unvaccinated and have been exposed to someone who has tested positive.
On March 17, 2021, HHS announced it was investing $150 million to increase access to mAb therapy for high-risk patients in underserved and disadvantaged communities across the country. With support from KPMG LLP, HHS is developing new prototype models for expanding access to mAb treatment, leveraging an existing network of healthcare partners, including Wellstar.
The therapy is the first COVID-19 treatment granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for outpatient use. A Phase 3 clinical trial showed that the antibody therapy reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by up to 70% in patients who received the drug intravenously compared to those who received a placebo.
To be eligible for mAb treatment, patients must meet the EUA definition of “high risk.” The FDA Emergency Use Authorization provides additional information on eligibility for mAb treatment. Treatment is offered regardless of immigration status, health insurance coverage, or ability to pay.
ABOUT CRUSH COVID
A treatment for COVID-19 is here and is available in every state at hundreds of locations across the country. With the help of KPMG, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), state and local health departments, and local hospitals and health clinics, eligible patients will have increased access to mAb treatment in a growing number of underserved and disadvantaged communities through this initiative. Authorized by the FDA, monoclonal antibody therapy (mAb) is available to patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are considered at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization.
To learn more about eligibility and find a treatment location near you, visit https://crushcovid.com.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid signed a second extension of the county’s Declaration of Emergency today [Oct. 14] concerning the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The extension will allow upcoming public meetings to be held virtually, keep the county’s emergency operations plan in place, and continues to encourage residents to get vaccinated and take precautions in public. The second extension runs through November 16.
“Even though we’ve heard positive news from our public health partners on the downward trend of this latest surge in COVID cases, the county’s case rate remains more than three times what is considered ‘high community transmission,’” Chairwoman Cupid said. “Keeping this order in place will allow us to remain proactive and hopefully help end this latest surge.”
The extension also cites the “severe overcrowding” condition at Kennestone Hospital caused by coronavirus cases and continues the terms of prior declarations.
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On Friday, Cobb and Douglas Public Health Director Dr. Janet Memark provided her latest COVID-19 update:
Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health
Today, I hope to bring better tidings to our communities on the COVID-19 front. It appears that we are finally on the downslope of the Delta surge. We are seeing decreases in case counts, positive percentage of tests and hospitalizations. Unfortunately, death is the last indicator, and we continue to see COVID-19 deaths being reported to us daily.
Please remember as we see COVID-19 cases continue to drop, we are still in high transmission for both counties. Cobb County has 605 cases per 100,000 and Douglas is at 726 cases/100,000. Positive percentage rates are also 10.9 and 14.6% respectively. All of these indicators are still in the HIGH range, and we need to continue to push them down a significant amount. Our Cobb hospitals are still reporting SEVERE status and Wellstar Douglas now reports a BUSY status.
View the latest community transmission rates in both
Cobb and Douglas Counties. Click here.
Some of you have heard the news about the Pfizer boosters approved by the FDA and now the CDC. The CDC has released recommendations for the booster dose to be eligible for Americans aged 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions and adults in high-risk working and institutional settings.
We are awaiting more guidance for each of the categories, but the vaccines will be ready to be given starting Monday. Remember that these boosters have only been approved for those who received the Pfizer vaccine series at least 6 months ago, and boosters will be available anywhere that offers the vaccine.
Also, remember that the 3rd dose for people with immunocompromising conditions like transplants and active cancer treatment is still available for those who received Moderna and Pfizer at this time. The FDA and CDC are working quickly to make recommendations for boosters for people who received the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, and we will share those recommendations as soon as they are available.
The last thing I will leave you with today is to remind you that cooler weather also brings influenza. Due to precautions taken against COVID-19 last year, we had a negligible flu season. We have seen a resurgence of other respiratory viruses wreaking havoc already-like RSV. Please remember that you can get some pretty good protection from the flu by getting a flu shot. You can come to the health department, go to your primary care provider or many retail providers to get your shot.
Please enjoy this new season of fall and of hope that all the progress we have made against the COVID-19 Pandemic pays off, and that we do not see another surge.
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