Mecklenburg reports 1 new death, total of 1,587 coronavirus cases
New coronavirus cases were identified Wednesday in Mecklenburg, pushing the total to 1,587, according to county officials late Wednesday.
Mecklenburg officials reported one new death on Wednesday and said a total of 46 people with COVID-19 have died locally. More than half the people who have tested positive for the virus in the county have been released from isolation, officials have said.
Earlier in the day, state officials said there were 1,567 total cases locally, up 48 cases from the previous day, the Department of Health and Human Services reported.
That’s the largest increase in new cases in six days, since the state reported 78 new Mecklenburg cases on April 23, and the second highest in the past 12 days.
Mecklenburg, unlike the state, reports only cases among county residents.
Statewide, DHHS reported 380 new cases Wednesday, for a total of 9,948, and 12 more deaths, for a total of 354.
Health officials say the totals may only be a snapshot because many people with COVID-19 symptoms haven’t been tested.
Mecklenburg COVID-19 data
As of April 26 — the last date demographic data was available — county coronavirus data show:
▪ An average of about 70 people with lab-confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized at acute-care facilities in the past week. Those numbers reflect a slight decrease over the past two weeks, according to Mecklenburg health officials.
▪ An average of 9% of people who were tested were positive, showing a stable two-week trend with no significant increases or decreases, health officials say.
▪ About 3 in 4 people diagnosed with COVID-19 locally were adults ages 20 to 59 years old.
▪ About 1 in 6 people diagnosed were hospitalized due to their illness. People age 60 or older were four times as likely to need hospital care compared to younger people with coronavirus.
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 29, 2020 at 11:23 AM.
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