COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County has extended a declaration of emergency over the Omicron-caused COVID-19 surge another 30 days, though it says a mask mandate in place for county buildings will expire.
The emergency declaration will now remain in effect into mid-February. A mask mandate that has applied to county government facilities including "libraries, indoor parks facilities, and senior centers" will expire at the end of January.
Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid signed the extension Thursday. It was first enacted a few days before Christmas.
The emergency order, the county said in a release, "keeps the county’s Emergency Operations Plan in place, allows the county to hold all or portions of public meetings virtually, and encourages residents to take precautions, including getting vaccinated, to avoid further spread of the omicron variant of the virus."
Thursday's release said the order could end early "if public health officials say the situation warrants it."
“The current surge caused by the omicron variant continues to have serious impacts on our local hospitals,” Chairwoman Cupid said in a statement. “Cases remain well above high community spread, and until we get those numbers down we need to encourage residents to take precautions; to continue wearing masks, watching their distance, and washing their hands. Those precautions are outlined in this order.”
Under the original order businesses and Cobb County School District buildings - because those fall under the authority of the Cobb Board of Education - were excepted from the mask mandate, which will continue to be the case.
The policy did not apply to the Cobb court complex as well, but a mask mandate remains in effect there under a separate judicial order.