In Mecklenburg County, almost half of coronavirus positive are ages 20-39
Editor’s note: The article was originally published on March 19 and was updated on March 22 to include information about Mecklenburg County.
On Sunday, March 22, Mecklenburg County released some information about the ages of those testing positive for the coronavirus in the area. As of Sunday, 1.2 percent who have tested positive are younger than 20; 48.8 percent were ages 20-39; 32.5 percent were ages 40-59; and 17.5 percent are older than 60. A total of 80 people had tested positive on Sunday.
A CDC report issued Wednesday came with a warning about a similar age group: COVID-19 is seriously sickening American adults of all ages.
About 20 percent of the hospitalized patients and 12 percent of the intensive care patients were between the ages of 20 and 44, according to the report.
Even more startling, 38 percent of those who required hospitalization in the U.S. with the coronavirus symptoms were ages 20 to 54.
Last week, Deborah Birx, coordinator of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, asked younger people to stop socializing in groups, reported The New York Times.
In Italy and France, many with COVID-19 in their 20s-40s also require intensive care, Fortune reported Wednesday.
What about the coronavirus spread in Charlotte?
What does that mean for millennials and Gen X (and at least part of Gen Z) in Charlotte?
Many of us are working remotely in part to avoid crowded spaces. Bars and restaurant dining rooms are closed. Movie theaters and gyms are closed.
Yet, several spots remain open in Charlotte. Day care centers, banks, public transit, parks and greenways, The U.S. National Whitewater Center, pharmacies and more remain open in the area, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Restaurants are offering takeout and delivery, part of the new normal as a way to feed the community and also make money during this time of uncertainty.
All of these open places mean other humans are there, too. Answering the door for delivery, running along the Rail Trail, handing a store clerk a credit card are all potential forms of human contact. Old habits die hard, and it can be easy to forget that social distancing is more important than ever.
‘Everyone acts like they are on a stay-vacation’
“If we want to get this done with and quit shuddering every time we see states like Florida partying and keeping all their restaurants open and welcoming college kids from all over who will go back to their homes and states, none-the-wiser spreading disease, we have to report this and demand compliance for our welfare’s sake, far beyond Charlotte,” reader Lisa Winston emailed CharlotteFive on Thursday morning.
“The greenways in Charlotte are packed: 6 feet apart — what’s that? Everyone acts like they are on a stay-vacation. Go do these things apart, 6 feet apart, or we will be confined to our homes indefinitely,” Winston wrote.
“Folks of all ages, including Gen-Xers and Millennials are susceptible to Covid-19,” Dr. Charles Bregier, medical director at Novant Health Corporate and Occupational Health, told CharlotteFive on Thursday afternoon. “Let’s remember that Covid-19 is 2 to 3 times as contagious as the flu. And 20% of those hospitalized with Covid-19 are in the age group 20-44. So we all need to be diligent in practicing social distancing, avoiding avoidable travel and minimizing contact with others, as well as strict personal hygiene and sanitizing and hand washing and using hand sanitizer.”
About last weekend and young people partying all over the Queen City
Last weekend and St. Paddy’s Day celebrations now seem like a world away, but within the coronavirus contagion zone, it wasn’t so long ago at all. When the bars were still open, parties and gatherings continued to be held in and around Center City. Charlotte Ledger reported a full house at Suffolk Punch. Inside 485 captured a screenshot of a now-deleted Instagram post from Lost and Found that proclaimed “PACKKKKKKKKED HOUSE! Been at capacity for 2 hours!”
“You can cancel the event, but not the turn-up,” Charlotte resident Eric Thompson told Emma Way of Charlotte Agenda at Lost and Found on Saturday.
Crowds gathered for St. Patrick’s Day parties and pints of Guinness at The Workman’s Friend and Tyber Creek Pub. A sold-out show continued as planned at Amos’ Southend.
Charlotte isn’t the only place that has pushed the boundaries of social distancing in recent days. Florida towns are closing their beaches after reports of packed shores during spring break. San Francisco’s parks are open, even with its shelter-in-place order. Short of holing yourself up in your home, it’s impossible to avoid seeing another human. That makes the 6-foot rule even more important as this virus spreads fast.
‘Our generation has a chance to make an impact’
This week, Charlotte business owners from SweatNet and RedefineU created a video begging younger people to stay home. “We are at the point now of choosing between our lifestyles, our livelihoods or others’ lives. Overreaction is really our only option,” the business owners said in the video. “Social distancing can save lives. Instead of taking the steps to prevent yourself from getting the virus, assume you have it and take the steps necessary to prevent spreading it to others. Our generation has a chance to make an impact.”
Community spread of the coronavirus is happening in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper emphasized on Thursday.
In addition to avoiding crowds, take note that when you surround yourself even with just a few people, you may be putting them at risk — even if they are not in what is considered a high-risk category. If you’re heading to a friend’s house one night to play video games, that’s safe, right? But then you head to another friend’s the next night for dinner, and then sit on a neighbor’s front porch and then have another friend over for a movie … if even one of those people in the chain has COVID-19, you could be putting everyone else at risk.
This may be why the county was reportedly considering a shelter-in-place order earlier this week. On Thursday, County Manager Dena Diorio told county commissioners that Mecklenburg County has “no plans at this time” to issue a shelter-in-place order, however.
George Dunlap, the chair of the county commissioners, told The Charlotte Observer that he views a shelter-in-place order as a “last-ditch effort.”
Still, Dunlap urged residents to take the coronavirus seriously. And he’s right. We don’t want to see anyone hospitalized with this — or worse.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 3:19 PM.
