ATLANTA — In mid-November, Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health told 11Alive News that she was urging Cobb residents to avoid Thanksgiving travel or gatherings in an effort to limit the number of new COVID-19 cases.
Now, the county is seeing a surge in cases that health officials are linking to the Thanksgiving holiday. With Hannukah already underway and Christmas next week, there is a worry that even more travel and gatherings will add to the surge.
In a letter to country residents on Tuesday, Memark said, "the hope of ending this pandemic" is coming with the release of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and pending authorization of a vaccine from Moderna expected next week.
Memark told 11Alive the county could have vaccine doses on hand and able to begin vaccinations by early next week, at the latest.
In her letter, however, Memark added, "I would be remiss to not mention the dire situation that our community is facing."
High COVID-19 transmission rates, Memark said, is considered anything above 100 new cases over two weeks, per 100,000 people.
On November 16, Cobb County's rate was more than double the high-transmission rate threshold, with 203 new cases per 100,000 people.
On Tuesday, the rate reached 678 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the county -- using positive test results from both PCR and rapid antigen tests.
"If people don't understand the situation we are in right now, to compound another holiday surge on top of already very high rates, who knows how much the hospital system will be able to take at that point," Memark told 11Alive on Wednesday.
Memark said new case totals in Cobb currently resemble July and August, when the county set records for its number of new cases.
As a result of the latest surge, Cobb County Schools is having all students use virtual learning for the rest of the week as they finish the fall semester, ahead of the district's holiday break starting next Monday.
"They made the decision yesterday, based on the number of cases that were coming in," Memark said. "Remember, the number of cases that come into schools is a reflection of what is happening in the community. So, as cases rise, it is not illogical that you're going to see cases rise in schools as well."
Memark advises the school district on COVID-19 and said county health officials don't believe COVID-19 is rapidly spreading inside classrooms. She credits a district mask mandate for low transmission in schools.
Despite health officials believing transmission is low inside classrooms, students and staff from Cobb County Schools have still been linked to a growing number of COVID-19 cases.
Since July 1, district data shows students and staff combined to account for 615 cases as of November 17. That number has now nearly doubled over the past month, with students and staff now being connected to 1,214 cases.
Memark said away from the county's schools, new COVID-19 cases are being linked to Thanksgiving travel and gatherings, other gatherings in the community, and people no longer following public health warnings or what she calls "COVID fatigue."
"I'm hearing about parties and weddings," Memark said. "Three-hundred people gathering at a wedding -- that is nothing that can be happening right now."
Currently, the plan for Cobb County Schools, is to resume face-to-face learning on January 6 when the Spring Semester begins. 11Alive contacted the district and asked if that plan is being reconsidered due to the increase in cases that led the district to have students finish the current week virtually.
Wednesday evening, 11Alive received the following statement from a district spokesperson:
"We have been, and will continue to, work closely with Cobb and Douglas Department of Public Health on all health related decisions. We know that the pandemic has impacted our entire community and remain committed to offering our families the opportunity to choose the classroom environment that best meets their needs, as long as it is safe to do so."
Memark tells 11Alive her staff will continue to offer guidance to the district and called the situation, "day-to-day."
"We are going to meet over the holidays as well and keep an eye on case counts," she said.