'Heading in the right direction,' Cobb health director says

May 15—Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb-Douglas Public Health, said recent coronavirus data "have been the most optimistic that we've had in a long while.

"We continue to see declining trends in case rates across both counties," she wrote in a newsletter Friday. "Please remember that they are still in high transmission, but they are heading in the right direction."

She also reiterated that federally-approved coronavirus vaccines are "safe and effective" and urged everyone over 12 years old to get one.

As of Friday, 31% of Cobb residents and 21% of Douglas residents had been vaccinated, she said.

"We continue to be under the national statistics and need to keep going with vaccinations to ensure that this pandemic remains controlled."

Cobb County Schools reported 134 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the district over the past two weeks.

On Friday, the school system's website listed 5,159 cases since July 1, 2020. As of Friday, there were 16 elementary schools with active cases, nine middle schools with active cases and eight high schools with active cases. Of the district's 112 schools, 33 have active cases.

The district does not state how many infections are in students or staff.

Marietta City Schools reported 59 coronavirus cases this week at a total of 10 locations. Forty-eight cases were found in district students, and another 11 were found in district employees.

Here's a look at Cobb County and state coronavirus numbers reported Friday, and how they compare to the day before. All information comes from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

A Cobb-Douglas Public Health report, including data on how the coronavirus is affecting different ZIP codes, genders and ages, is available at reports.mysidewalk.com/17554e75c1#c-452027.

For the Georgia DPH's full report, visit dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.

National data can be found at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website at cdc.gov.