Cobb schools reporting 216 total COVID-19 cases since July 1

As students, parents, teachers and staff in the Cobb County School District prepare for a return to classroom learning starting in October, the district is providing COVID-19 case updates on a weekly basis.

The district reported that as of Friday, a total of 216 people have tested positive for the virus since July 1.

That’s a little more than double since “approximately 100” cases were confirmed in early August, also dating back to July 1.

As was the case last month, the district said it can’t be more specific about that information, including indicating how many staff and students have tested positive, or school locations where people have had cases of the virus confirmed by Cobb and Douglas Public Health.

The district is citing medical privacy laws “based on instruction provided by the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department” for not saying more.

The weekly case figures will be updated every Friday through the end of the school year.

Cobb schools started all-remote on Aug. 17 due to what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said was guidance from public health officials about “high community spread” of COVID-19.

Some staff and students have been on campuses and at district facilities, including athletes and others picking up textbooks and other class materials.

The district is the second-largest in Georgia with more than 112,000 students, and is Cobb County’s largest employer with more than 13,000 front office staff, principals, teachers, and support workers on the payroll.

Students will be able to return for in-person classes on Oct. 5, starting with K-5 and special education, followed by middle school on Oct. 19 and high school on Nov. 5.

School district staff members are also returning to schools on phased-in basis: elementary, Sept. 21; middle school Oct. 5 and high school Oct. 22.

As of Monday afternoon, there were 18,505 overall COVID-19 cases in Cobb County, the fourth-highest total in the state, with 1,520 coming in the last two weeks.

A total of 2,263 cases have been confirmed between ages 0-20 in Cobb, the fourth-highest of any age group.

But after a summer spike, Cobb’s average cases per 100,000 over the last two weeks has dropped to just under 200. One-hundred cases per 100,000 is considered high community spread, but Ragsdale said he was looking at getting that metric between 100-200 in order to reopen schools.

At one point, that figure was well over 400 cases per 100,000. Cobb has 413 deaths, second only to Fulton County, and 1,670 overall hospitalizations.

After the reopening announcement, the Cobb school district outlined health and safety protocols that include mask requirements for everyone and deep cleaning procedures.

The district said that anyone testing positive for COVID-19 will self-isolate for 10 consecutive days from the date of a positive test and is asymptomatic.

Students and staff also will have to go into quarantine if they have a suspected case and symptoms of the virus or were within close contact with someone who’s positive.

All schools will have designated isolation areas for anyone with COVID-19 symptoms.

Parents are in the process of choosing whether to let their students return to school or to remain all-remote through the end of the fall semester.

That deadline is this Sunday, Sept. 20. Once parents choose an option, they cannot change their minds before the end of the semester. More information can be found by clicking here.