Cobb County Chairwoman Lisa Cupid declared a state of emergency in the northwest Atlanta suburbs, as the highly contagious omicron variant sends case numbers skyrocketing across the U.S.
The order re-instates a mask mandate inside county government buildings, allows public meetings to be held online and activates the county’s emergency operations plan.
“Public Health officials warn me this variant is spreading at an alarming rate,” Cupid said in a statement announcing the declaration. “The stress on our hospitals is increasing, and both public and private COVID testing facilities are overwhelmed.”
The public health department for Cobb and Douglas counties reported 583 new cases in Cobb on Tuesday, according to the emergency declaration. That’s the highest daily total since October, when the delta variant was dominant. Last week, omicron made up more than 95% of new positive samples, according to CDC regional estimates for Georgia and seven other Southern states.
The declaration also urged residents to get vaccinated and boosted, avoid crowds and wear masks when indoors with others. The mask mandate applies to county government buildings only, not schools or private businesses.
The order is effective until Jan. 23, 2022. A previous emergency declaration, first issued in August, expired in mid-November amid a lull in cases.
