Mecklenburg coronavirus cases total 954. In Concord, 14+ people positive at nursing home
In Mecklenburg County, 19 new cases were reported Sunday by state health officials — bringing the county’s total to 954 coronavirus cases.
The county reported 12 deaths as of Saturday afternoon, and continues to have the highest number of cases and deaths in North Carolina.
Over the Easter weekend, a total of 41 new cases have been reported in Mecklenburg, state health data shows. The Observer has previously reported local health officials believe the total number of cases is likely only “a snapshot of the true burden of COVID-19 in our community.” Health experts have also cautioned about making assumptions based on the number of new cases announced, given that the figure is impacted by the availability of testing and the length of time it takes for results.
In neighboring Concord, at least 14 people in a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center have tested positive for coronavirus, health officials in Cabarrus County say.
The news came as Cabarrus County Health Alliance reported its “largest one-day jump” in cases late Saturday, with 28 more people testing positive for COVID-19 in the county. The county has at least 125 positive cases and one death, according to county officials on Sunday. More than half of the new cases reported Saturday came from Five Oaks Rehab in Concord, public health officials said on Facebook.
As of Sunday, 4,520 people across North Carolina had tested positive for coronavirus. At the time, state officials reported a total of 88 deaths and 331 current hospitalizations related to COVID-19. State officials say more than 62,000 tests for the new coronavirus have been administered in North Carolina.
A total number of tests for Mecklenburg County has not been released. County officials have said they do not know the number of tests performed at non-hospital facilities.
Five Oaks Rehab in Concord
Cabarrus County health officials say they recently became aware of a potential outbreak at Five Oaks Rehab in Concord and have administered more than 300 tests at the facility for residents and employees. Nearly 200 of those tests are still pending.
On its website, Five Oaks Rehab says it offers skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation. The facility has restricted all visitors except in end-of-life-situations in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The state has identified four outbreaks, defined as two or more lab-confirmed cases, in Mecklenburg County nursing homes, in addition to another outbreak in a local residential care facility. In neighboring Union County, there has been one outbreak in a nursing home.
Statewide, there were 28 instances of outbreaks in nursing homes, as of Sunday.
Coronavirus testing around Charlotte
Late last week, Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris warned that misleading results could come from at least one rapid COVID-19 test, which has not been approved by federal regulators but has been used locally.
For now, any positive result from those tests will not be included in the state’s tally of cases, which counts only results from tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Harris.
“Accurate, rapid testing is coming,” Harris said in a statement. “However, this test is probably doing more harm than good right now.”
On Sunday, state health data showed there’s nearly a 10-day wait for results on hundreds of pending tests.
While no cure or vaccine currently exists for COVID-19, Novant Health announced this week that it would be the first hospital system in the southeast to participate in phase 2 of a clinical trial for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
The placebo-controlled trial will involve 75 Novant patients and is meant to test the safety of using Leronlimab, an experimental drug also used to treat HIV and developed by CytoDyn, a Vancouver, Wash.-based biotech company.
Church pays off medical debt
As local businesses struggle during the statewide stay-at-home order and with unemployment rising, a Charlotte church is hoping to alleviate some financial pressures for families.
Freedom House Church paid off $2 million in medical debt for people in Mecklenburg County and the neighboring area, the Observer’s media partner WBTV reported. The church did not know the identities of the people it helped.
“Because those people right now we want them to focus on being able to feed their family to be able to pay their mortgage or their rent, and not worrying about the debt collector calling for those hospital bills that they can’t pay right now,” Penny Maxwell, a senior pastor, told WBTV.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy don't we know how many tests have been done in Mecklenburg County?
Mecklenburg County Health Department collects data from local hospitals on the number of tests administered. County officials have said they do not know how many tests have been done outside of hospitals.
Non-hospital test centers and private labs report the number of tests and outcomes directly to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The state health department reports on its website a daily count of the number of tests performed across North Carolina. A county-by-county breakdown of the number of tests has not been provided publicly.
This story was originally published April 12, 2020 at 11:18 AM.
