Cobb schools report 587 COVID-19 cases; 46 at East Side ES

A total of 587 new COVID-19 cases were reported this week by the Cobb County School District, including a district-high 46 cases at East Side Elementary School in East Cobb.

That’s where all 5th graders were moved into virtual learning mode starting Thursday through next Friday after an outbreak.

The district’s weekly COVID case update, issued every Friday, includes school-by-school breakdowns.

Last week, as a new school year began, there were 185 cases among staff and students. Since July 1, there have been 822 cumulative cases, including 50 reported before classes began.

Several other schools had double-digit figures this week, including Walton and Wheeler (13 each) and Sprayberry (12) high schools in East Cobb.

When acknowledging the East Side outbreak earlier this week, a district spokeswoman did not explain how the outbreak occurred there, and why the switch to remote instruction was limited only to the 5th grade.

Cobb is among a handful of school districts in metro Atlanta that has a masks-optional policy. Another is Marietta City Schools, which said this week it would increase contact tracing procedures.

Last week Cobb updated protocols specifying quarantine policies that include a mandated 10-day mask-wearing period for asymptomatic staff and students who are exposed.

However, the district has not responded to increasing calls for a mask mandate, which is what is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

On Thursday, nearly 100 people favoring a school mandate protested in front of Cobb school district headquarters in Marietta, and they were met by counter-protestors.

Earlier this week, Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, urged indoor mask usage in the county, including schools, as transmission metrics continued to climb well past the high community spread level.

On Friday, she issued an even more urgent message, as the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people approached 500 (100 cases per 100,000 is considered high community spread) and as hospitals were reporting a shortage of critical beds.

“I leave you with the facts of our current state of affairs and implore that each of you make your individual decisions not just for your individual rights, but for the good of our community,” Memark said. “Make sure your facts are from reputable sources and not social media sites. Wear your mask in public and get vaccinated. These are two of the only weapons that we have against this pandemic, but remain two of the strongest.”

The Georgia Department of Public Health also compiles a weekly update called the School Aged COVID-19 Surveillance Report.