COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County Schools has reported a total of 2,797 COVID cases since August 6, 2021. Now, a new report, released Friday, shows there are 1,033 active COVID cases among students, teachers, and staff.
"I'm just so angry that this whole situation is preventable," said Stacy Efrat, a parent of three children in Cobb County Schools. "I mean, there's no distancing. There's no mask requirement. So, why wouldn't it get worse? We're doing nothing to stop the spread."
Efrat previously told 11Alive her 11-year-old daughter, Maya, contracted COVID after her back-to-school orientation. She said her other two children, herself, and her husband, all contracted the virus as a result.
"We got really lucky and everyone's symptoms are mild. My youngest son was asymptomatic," Efrat said, adding that the family is now fully recovered and no one was seriously ill.
When Efrat saw the latest report, she was stunned to learn her son's school, East Side Elementary, is one of those with the most cases.
"I think it's nine percent of the entire school has tested positive in the last four weeks since school started," she said.
East Side currently has 22 active cases, with 106 total cases since school started. The school has approximately 1,241 students and 77 teachers. Nine days after school started, the entire fifth grade class at the school was sent home for 10 days due to a number of students and staff in quarantine. They were set to return on August 23.
The district's been at the center of a back and forth between the school board and parents, some who support the board's "strong encouragement" of masks and others who continue to demand a mask mandate, as well as options for virtual learning should a school or grade level see a surge in cases.
Efrat, whose children were quarantined for a week and a half after contracting the virus, said they struggled due to a lack of a virtual option.
"I've got a ninth-grader who's taking advanced classes, and it has a very hard course load. And it's hard to not fall behind because he's not able to just teach himself this advanced material. I also have a first-grader who's too young to independently teach himself and both my husband and I have full-time jobs. So, we have to juggle between homeschooling cam and trying to work," she explained
Cobb County Schools announced it will be expanding its online learning program into the spring semester.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said families can apply for the Cobb Online Learning Academy later this fall. Parents can also enroll their children in the elementary virtual program.
Spots will be limited and handed out through a lottery system, the school system said.
At a board meeting on August 19, Ragsdale said masks will remain optional.
Meanwhile, Efrat said she isn't sure what it will take and she hopes the district changes its stance on mandating masks.
"It makes me sad that so many families are going through such a horrible time when it doesn't have to be this way," she added. "We're seeing other school districts take the steps to keep kids safe and keep their families safe. But our district doesn't seem to want to do any of that."
Sprayberry High has the most active cases among the Cobb County high schools, with 69 cases and 120 cumulative cases since the beginning of August.
Cooper Middle has the most active cases among the middle schools, with 25, but Barber Middle has the most cumulative cases, with 60.
And while East Side has the highest cumulative total among the elementary schools, Baker Elementary currently has the most active cases with 28.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, children between the ages of five and 17, are experiencing the biggest increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases since July, across the state.