5 metro Atlanta counties now have ‘high’ level of COVID-19 cases

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The newest COVID-19 variant known as BA.5 is very contagious and spreading fast. Cobb is now one of five metro Atlanta counties considered to have a high level of community transmission when it comes to new cases.

Channel 2′s Michele Newell met a family who tested positive for COVID-19 after a July 4 road trip.

They thought they were being extremely cautious and had already lost a loved one to COVID.

They developed symptoms after their trip and, like many, relied on at-home COVID-19 tests to determine what to do next.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Americans paying nearly $500 more a month for the same things as prices skyrocket
• 20-year-old Georgia woman dies after freak accident at rodeo event
• Mother arrested on murder charges 23 years after 6-year-old found dead in DeKalb cold case

After Ellen Reynolds tested positive, it was like a domino effect: Every member of the family got sick.

“I woke up with a fever of 101 at 8 o’clock in the morning, feeling like death warmed over,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said her symptoms, which included chills and body aches, were debilitating.

“We called our doctor, and she got me started on antiviral medications right away, which made a significant difference within 24 hours,” Reynolds said.

The Reynolds family wasn’t out of the woods yet. Reynold’s husband and son tested positive two days later.

Reynold’s said the biggest concern was over her 91-year-old mother-in-law, who they visited on the 4th of July in Gainesville and was the last to get sick.

“She’s feeling really badly, and there’s a lot of guilt knowing that we went to visit her and she came down with COVID,” Reynolds said. “But we had no idea.”

The Reynolds were all fully vaccinated and were taking extra precautions to avoid getting sick. This is the first time since the pandemic began that they have tested positive for COVID.

Reynolds said she believes the family got sick in Cobb County, which currently has a high rate of transmission of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Douglas, Spalding, Coweta and Paulding counties are all also currently ranked as having a high rate of transmission of the virus.

RELATED NEWS:

Novel vaccine shields against 8 SARS-like viruses, including COVID-19 variants The drug will now have to undergo a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans (NCD)

©2022 Cox Media Group