Cobb and Douglas County Public Health Director Dr. Janet Memark said both counties avoided an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases after the Spring Break and Easter holidays.
In a electronic newsletter Tuesday, Memark said Cobb and Douglas still have high rates of transmission but the numbers are “the lowest we have seen in a while.” Cobb started this week with a rate of 212 cases per 100,000 people; Douglas was at 242 per 100,000.
Mermark added that COVID hospitalizations continue to decline in Cobb, and have plateaued in Douglas.
“Last week, we anticipated surges from Spring Break and Easter,” Memark said. “Although we saw a mild increase in numbers, I think we have averted a surge from that cause. Please don’t take this as a reason to abandon all defenses.
“We are still in HIGH transmission, we have variants that have taken over, and we have not reached herd immunity. It is easy to think this is all over, but India’s humanitarian crisis is an example of what can happen if we stop prevention too soon.”
Memark said 21% of Cobb County citizens and 14% of Douglas County citizens are fully vaccinated.
“We need to get these numbers up higher to return back to some normalcy,” she said.
Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, will be open Saturday as a mass vaccination site, with 5,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine available. Northside Hospital and the Braves are hosting. Appointments can be made at https://www.mlb.com/braves/community/vaccination.
“I know that this has been a very long pandemic,” Memark said. “My family and I feel the strain just as you all do. We are heading in the right direction to beat this and get back to the things we love — gathering with friends and family, traveling, concerts, etc. Let’s all work together to get over the finish line.”
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