Mask Mandate Extended, Capacity Limits At Public Buildings Lifted In Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb County has lifted its capacity limits at county-owned buildings, but the mask mandate for those same facilities has been extended through mid-February due to a recent increase in COVID-19 cases among county staff, Cobb County officials said.

Both the mask mandate and capacity limits were set to expire Tuesday, but County Manager Jackie McMorris opted to keep only the mask mandate for the duration of the county's extended emergency declaration, which will expire at 11:59 p.m. Feb. 19.

Capacity limits are no longer in effect, but public meetings will still be conducted virtually through Feb. 19, a county newsletter said.

The news comes on the heels of Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid testing positive for COVID-19 and isolating at home, she announced Wednesday.

Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb & Douglas Public Health, said the decline in COVID-19 cases in Cobb has been "a bit slow," and the county is plateauing at about 1,697 cases per 100,000 county residents for the two-week case rate, according to a Friday newsletter.

"This transmission is further supported by PCR positivity rates, which are at 24.4 percent and 26.3 percent for each county respectively. Those should be under 5 percent to indicate low transmission," Memark said in the newsletter.

She also said local hospitals are showing improvement in COVID-19 hospitalizations, "but still have many patients admitted and have busy to severe capacity throughout."

Related:

• Cobb Chairwoman Tests Positive For COVID-19
• COVID-19 State Of Emergency, Mask Mandate Issued In Cobb Again