NC reports 25 new cases in Meck. This week’s average dipped below the prior one.
North Carolina health officials reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 in Mecklenburg on Sunday and county health officials said the total is now 1,183. Five additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported late Sunday, up from 24 as of Friday.
Earlier this month, from April 6 to 12, Mecklenburg County saw an average of 41 new cases announced per day by state health officials. In the past week, from April 13 to April 19, the county saw an average of 32 additional cases a day.
Health officials have said the day-to-day change in the number of cases will fluctuate, based on testing backlog, criteria for testing, and access to tests. Mecklenburg County’s health director has cautioned that the number of cases is a limited view, and that many people who have COVID-19 may not be tested.
In North Carolina, as of Sunday, there were more than 6,490 cases and at least 172 deaths, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services website. Nearly 79,000 coronavirus tests have been administered statewide, according to health officials. Mecklenburg County officials have said they do not know the exact number of tests performed locally.
Statewide, nearly 25% of the people who have died from COVID-19 lived in nursing homes, the Observer reported Saturday. Mecklenburg officials have identified seven long term care or nursing facilities with coronavirus outbreaks but have not said whether any residents have died. On Sunday, the state health department identified two additional local facilities with outbreaks.
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to loosen restrictions on placed retail stores. Under the upcoming directive, according to The State newspaper, some stores — such as flea markets and clothing, jewelry, crafts and book stores — will be allowed reopen as long as occupancy does not exceed five customers per 1,000 square feet.
The governor’s chief of staff told the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper that McMaster is also considering reopening salons, barbershops and gyms as long as the number of customers are limited and personal protective gear is used.
COVID-19 peak in Charlotte
Mecklenburg County officials say they are trying to expand their outreach efforts on coronavirus awareness to better include African Americans, who are disproportionately affected.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around one-third of the county’s population is black. However, as of last week, black residents made up half of the county’s coronavirus-related deaths and disproportionately test positive for the virus, county data show.
Part of that disparity is due to “long standing gaps in access to health care and other resources,” according to Mecklenburg County’s “tool kit” that addresses why black residents have been harder hit. County officials also say a higher percentage of black residents work essential jobs — meaning they’ve likely had to continue to work outside their homes amid the virus outbreak — and live with health conditions that make COVID-19 symptoms more severe.
A few weeks ago, Charlotte hospital systems Atrium Health and Novant Health first told Mecklenburg County the COVID-19 peak would likely hit the area between mid-April and mid-May.
Now the same officials are saying they expect to see that peak on June 8 because social distancing efforts are starting to work. Tentative plans for a 600-bed field hospital in Charlotte have been called off.
“Our goal here is to have slow spread,” Atrium chief physician executive Dr. Scott Rissmiller told the Observer. “We’re not going to be able to stop it at this point, but we want slow spread so that people are exposed to it and develop immunity at a pace that our communities and health systems can support and keep up with.”
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.
Prison outbreak
More than 280 of 770 inmates at Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro have tested positive for COVID-19. The Eastern North Carolina prison is one of the nation’s hardest hit correctional facilities when it comes to coronavirus.
State officials are now testing every inmate there but interviews reveal that inmates are living in fear and asking whether enough was done to protect them against an outbreak.
Racing without the fans
Five Charlotte-area Republican state senators are calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to amend his stay-at-home order and partially reopen Charlotte Motor Speedway. The state senators want the NASCAR track in Concord reopened — without fans — for the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24, the weekend of Memorial Day.
Since the coronavirus closures, NASCAR has suspended its season until further notice although the Associated Press reported Friday that NASCAR has “privately given teams a revised schedule in which racing would return with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”
This story was originally published April 19, 2020 at 12:09 PM.
