Physician at a Charlotte practice tests positive for COVID-19 as NC cases rise
An OrthoCarolina physician tested positive for COVID-19, the orthopedic practice announced Tuesday morning.
The unidentified physician works at OrthoCarolina’s Hip & Knee Center in Mercy Hospital at 2001 Vail Ave. in Charlotte, according to an OrthoCarolina statement.
OrthoCarolina was informed of the COVID-19 case Tuesday morning, according to the statement. The physician is in quarantine at home.
OrthCarolina’s Hip & Knee Center is closed until further notice.
All employees who had been in close contact with the physician are quarantining at home, according to OrthoCarolina.
OrthoCarolina is one of the region’s largest physician groups with 141 doctors across the Carolinas
COVID-19 cases rising
Mecklenburg County announced Tuesday the county now has 11 reported cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new strain of coronavirus.
It was not immediately clear if the OrthoCarolina case was one of the 11.
The county set up a hotline for anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or questions at 980-314-9400.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever and shortness of breath.
North Carolina announced its first reported case of COVID-19 on March 3, after a Wake County man was exposed at a long-term care facility in Kirkland, Washington.
The state has at least 46 reported cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning. Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency in North Carolina March 10.
Mecklenburg County followed, declaring a state of emergency Sunday.
That state of emergency declaration is key to getting state and federal funding help to fight the pandemic, Mecklenburg officials said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 12:18 PM.
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