Cobb experiencing medium COVID transmission as omicron subvariant spreads

Jan. 6—Cobb County is continuing to experience medium levels of COVID-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as a new omicron subvariant spreads across Georgia and the U.S.

The CDC's classification of COVID-19 community level is based on the number of cases and hospitalizations in the county and indicates the strain on a community's healthcare system as opposed to measuring the presence and spread of the virus in an area.

The new subvariant, XBB.1.5, has accounted for 17.3% of new cases in the region comprised of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee in the week ending Jan. 7, according to the CDC.

CDC data indicated that nationally, 27.6% of new COVID cases this week are from the XBB.1.5 subvariant.

Since Dec. 28, five people have died of COVID-19 in Cobb, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Here's a look at Cobb County and state COVID-19 numbers reported Wednesday, Dec. 28, and how they compare to two weeks prior. All information comes from the Georgia DPH.

As of Jan. 5, Marietta-based Wellstar Health System had 250 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 50% of them unvaccinated. The system had 26 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units, 58% of them unvaccinated, and 14 COVID-19 patients on a ventilator, nine of them unvaccinated.

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.