No spring break virus surge seen in 2 counties

But health official urges residents not to let guard down.

COVID-19 cases in Cobb and Douglas counties didnot spike in the wake of spring break, said Janet Memark, district health director for the two-county public health department.

As of Monday, there were 212 cases per 100,000 people in Cobb County and 242 cases per 100,000 people in Douglas County over a two-week period. These are the lowest COVID-19 rates observed in the two counties in a while, Memark said.

“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.

Cobb County has a 4.2% positivity rate, while Douglas County has a 7.8% rate — the rate is the percentage of all people tested for coronavirus who are positive for the virus. The higher the positivity rate, the greater the transmission of the virus in the community.

Currently, 21% of Cobb County residents are fully vaccinated, while only 14% of Douglas County residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s vaccine distribution dashboard.

“We need to get these numbers up higher to return back to some normalcy,” Memark said. “Let’s get ourselves vaccinated, wear our masks in public and keep our distance.”

Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, will be open Saturday as a mass vaccination site, with 5,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine available. Northside Hospital and the Braves are hosting. Make appointments at mlb.com/braves/community/vaccination.