School districts across metro Atlanta are almost all reporting a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases compared to numbers reached in the third and fourth weeks of August.
In the latest data reports, 14 area school districts recorded 3,248 cases for the week ending Sept. 17. That’s a significant drop from the nearly 6,000 cases recorded the last week in August.
The school districts’ numbers mirrors data the Georgia Department of Public Health is reporting about the state’s younger population.
Infections amid Georgia’s vicious fourth wave of the virus peaked at the end of August and the decline in cases has been faster among children than the general population. The seven-day rolling average of confirmed infections among Georgians under 18 peaked on Aug. 28 at 2,208.
On Monday, the rolling average was 839, a decrease of 62% from the peak, according to DPH. The overall outbreak statewide peaked Aug. 31 and the rolling average of new confirmed and suspected cases in Georgia is down about 44% in that time, DPH data show.
Overall, since the start of school last month, districts recorded nearly 32,000 COVID-19 cases.
Some school systems across Georgia took more aggressive action than the state and many local governments to arrest the spread of the virus as COVID-19 cases soared last month. The measures included enacting mask mandates or switching to virtual instruction amid a crush of new infections among students and staff.
Amber Schmidtke, a public health researcher who tracks Georgia’s COVID-19 trends, said the stronger actions taken by school systems and by parents may be behind improving case rates among children.
”When cases started to take off in schools, we saw a lot of schools pivot to virtual learning or they pivoted to a mask requirement if they didn’t have it before,” she said.
The delta wave hit children harder than previous surges, and might have made parents more risk averse, Schmidtke said.
Some people erroneously think children aren’t affected by COVID-19. Though children tend to have less severe infection than adults, minors are not immune from COVID-19, and can become very sick or even die from the disease.
“I think we saw a mental shift in some ways,” Schmidtke said.
State epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek said last week that about 60% of all COVID-19 outbreaks in Georgia now take place in K-12 schools, with more than 100 school outbreaks so far.
Below is a summary of the latest coronavirus data and news from 14 Atlanta area districts. Clayton County has not yet posted its data from last week, so its totals will change when that happens.
Districts are not required by the state to post any data and, therefore, it’s not listed in a uniform way. For instance, some break down cases involving students and staff, while others only provide a single total.
Atlanta Public Schools
Masks: Required
Enrollment: Approximately 51,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 2-Sept. 17): 2,055. Breakdown: 1,745 students; 310 staff
Latest report: For the week ending Sept. 17, the district recorded 232 cases: 199 students, 33 staff. This marks the district’s lowest count since the week ending Aug. 13 when 224 cases were documented. The highest count — 466 — was recorded the week ending Aug. 27.
Buford City Schools
Masks: Optional
Enrollment: About 5,525 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 5-Sept. 17): 385. Breakdown: 341 students, 44 staff
Latest report: For the week ending Sept. 17, the district reported 24 COVID-19 cases: 20 students, 4 staff. This is the lowest number of cases documented since the start of the new school year. Two weeks earlier, the district reported 102 cases.
On its data page, the district reports that it has “doubled our cleaning and fogging regiment, and we continue to spread student desks farther apart when able.” The district’s website also says the visitor phase-in plan has been pushed back to Sept. 27 for K-8 volunteers and lunch visitors.
Cherokee County School District
Masks: Optional
School start: Aug. 2
Enrollment: Approximately 42,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 2-Sept. 16): 3,340. Breakdown: 2,833 students, 507 staff
Latest report: The district’s report cover last Monday through Thursday. During that time, it recorded 228 cases: 180 students, 48 staff.
This is the lowest case count since the first week of school. The highest case count — 832 — was recorded the week ending Aug. 20.
The district will be on break this week. According to its website, the next COVID-19 report will be posted Oct. 1.
“If your child tests positive for COVID-19 while schools are closed, please inform your child’s school via email and staff will follow up with you,” the website said. “Any employee who tests positive over the break should inform their supervisor.”
City Schools of Decatur
Masks: Required
Enrollment: Approximately 5,700 students.
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 3-Sept. 17): 100. Breakdown: 84 students, 16 staff
Latest report: The district recorded 15 cases the week ending Sept. 17. Of those, 14 were students, 1 was a staff member.
The district recorded 19 cases the previous week.
Clayton County School District
Masks: Required
Enrollment: More than 50,000
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 5-Sept. 17): 1,368. Breakdown: 1,193 students, 175 staff
Latest report: The district recorded 129 cases for the week ending Sept. 17. Of those, 109 were students, 20 were staff.
To data, the district’s highest case count — 287 — was recorded the week ending Aug. 20. Since then, the numbers have steadily dropped.
While many districts posts case data on individual schools, Clayton does not “in an effort to protect the privacy and confidentiality of our impacted students and staff,” according to a statement provided to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.”
Most area school districts post COVID-19 data on Fridays or Mondays. When asked about why Clayton waits until Wednesdays, the school district said in a statement:
“This practice allows district leaders an opportunity to receive, review and confirm the data from the local epidemiologist prior to sharing it with all stakeholders.”
Cobb County School District
Masks: Optional
Enrollment: Approximately 107,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 2-Sept. 17): 4,926
Latest report: For the week ending Sept. 17, the district reported 576 cases. Of those, 575 were in schools and another case was outside a school. The highest counts were in elementary schools (289 cases), followed by high schools (164 cases) and middle schools (122 cases).
The district’s highest case count to date was the week ending Aug. 27: 1,026 cases in schools, plus another 10 non-school cases. The non-school cases could include reports from district offices or other departments. The district does not identify the sources.
Last week, the district released a statement that said 90% of its schools had seen a decrease in positive COVID-19 cases.
“We are constantly assessing what we do based on the most accurate data available, and we will continue to do so moving forward,” the statement said.
DeKalb County School District
Masks: Required
Enrollment: Approximately 93,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 6-Sept. 16): 2,822. Breakdown: 2,288 students, 534 staff
Latest report: The district recorded 299 COVID-19 cases from Sept. 10-16. This marks a significant decline from the week ending Aug. 20, when 930 cases were documented.
Of the cases recorded last week, 249 were students, 50 were staff. The highest counts were at Martin Luther King Jr. High School (12 cases), Cedar Grove High School (10 cases) and Lithonia Middle School (10 cases
Douglas County School System
Masks: Required
Enrollment: Approximately 26,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 4-Sept. 16): 1,174. Breakdown: District data doesn’t provide that information.
Latest report: The district recorded 166 cases from Sept. 10-16. This is an increase of six cases from the previous report.
The latest report documents 67 cases in elementary schools, 55 in middle schools, 43 in high schools and 1 other case.
The district recorded its highest case count — 273 — from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2.
Fayette County Public Schools
Masks: Required from Aug. 27-Oct. 29
Enrollment: Approximately 20,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 2-Sept. 17): 865. Breakdown: 768 students, 97 staff
Latest report: For the week ending Sept. 17, the district recorded 49 COVID-19 cases: 45 students, 4 staff. This is the lowest number of cases document since the week ending Aug. 20, when the count was 266.
Forsyth County Public Schools
Masks: Optional
Enrollment: Approximately 51,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 4-Sept. Sept. 18): 3,707
Latest weekly report: For the week ending Sept. 18, the district recorded 318 new cases: 290 students, 28 parents.
The districts also posts daily reports of active cases. Last week, the highest count was 525 cases on Sept. 12.
Students and employees are on break this week.
Fulton County Public Schools
Masks: Required
Enrollment: Approximately 94,400 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 9-Sept. 16): 3,285. Breakdown: District data doesn’t provide that information.
Latest report: The district recorded 334 COVID-19 cases from Sept. 10-16. In addition, 25,275 individuals had direct contact with a student or staff member who was COVID-19 positive. The district deems an entire class or bus a potential contact when at least one individual tests positive for the coronavirus.
The highest positive counts were at Bear Creek Middle School and Cambridge High School, which each had 13 cases.
Fulton’s highest case count — 896 — was recorded the week ending Aug. 26. Last week’s numbers marked a drop in cases for the third consecutive week since Aug. 26. But the decline was only 28 cases lower than the previous week, which was a less dramatic drop than that recorded by many other districts.
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Masks: Required
Enrollment: Approximately 177,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 4-Sept. 19): 5,360. Breakdown: 4,814 students, 546 staff
Latest report: The district’s data reports from Sept. 13-19 document 709 COVID-19 cases: 644 students, 65 staff. This marks the second consecutive week in which a decline in cases was documented.
The district’s lowest case count — 250 — was recorded after the first week of the new school year. The highest count — 1,159 — was documented from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6.
Henry County School District
Masks: Required as of Aug. 9
Enrollment: Approximately 43,000 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 4-Sept. 20): 2,029. Breakdown: 1,756 students, 273 staff
Latest report: The district recorded 134 cases for the week ending Sept. 17: 120 students; 14 staff. This is the lowest case count since early August. The highest case count — 480 — was recorded the the ending Aug. 20.
The district is on break this week, so all schools are closed.
Marietta City Schools
Masks: Required, as of Aug. 23
Enrollment: Approximately 8,900 students
Cumulative COVID-19 cases (Aug. 3-Sept. 17): 459. Breakdown: 389 students, 70 staff
Latest report: The district recorded 35 cases for the week ending Sept. 17. Of those, 33 were students, 2 were staff. The count is slightly higher than the previous week when 35 cases were recorded.
The district’s highest case count — 153 — was recorded the week ending Aug. 27.
This file has been updated with Clayton County’s data, which was posted Wednesday.
