Mecklenburg hits 50 COVID-19 deaths, county reports
Mecklenburg County reported another coronavirus-related death Friday, hitting a total of 50 deaths in the area. The county has a total of 1,654 coronavirus cases, according to county health data released Friday.
More than 60% of the Mecklenburg County people who tested positive for the virus have been released from isolation, the county has said.
The county’s number reported Friday is higher than the state total for Mecklenburg of 1,651. Mecklenburg, which unlike the state reports only cases among county residents, had reported 1,612 cases on Thursday.
Statewide, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 414 new cases Friday, for a total of 10,923, and 21 more deaths, for a total of 399.
Friday’s number, as reported by the state, was a drop in daily case totals compared to the last three days. Daily case totals had steadily increased this week since recording the lowest daily increase in over a month on April 27 with only 10 new cases reported.
Thursday’s count of 60 new cases was the highest reported count in seven days.
The county’s report showed an increase of 42 cases on Friday afternoon.
Health officials say the totals may only be a snapshot because many people with COVID-19 symptoms haven’t been tested.
Mecklenburg COVID-19 update
As of April 29 — 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 slight decrease in the two-week trend, 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 May 1, 2020 at 11:29 AM.
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