Mecklenburg County coronavirus cases near 1,700, with 50 deaths

Mecklenburg County has gained 26 more cases of the coronavirus, for a total of 1,680, the county reported Saturday.

No additional deaths were reported. Mecklenburg now has 50 COVID-related fatalities so far during the pandemic. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Mecklenburg has seen an average of 36 new coronavirus cases a day in the past seven days, compared to 42 cases a day in the previous seven days, according to state data.

The state Department of Health and Human Services had reported 1,699 cases in Mecklenburg earlier Saturday. County and state data differ because Mecklenburg includes only county residents, unlike the state, and the two have different reporting windows.

More than 60% of the Mecklenburg County residents who tested positive for the virus have been released from isolation, the county has said.

Statewide, DHHS reported 11,509 total cases Saturday, an increase of 586 new cases since Friday. The 420 reported deaths were 21 more than the previous day.

The continued rise in new cases is due in part to more widespread testing, state officials say.

They consider a more important measure to be the percentage of those tested who get positive results. Those have trended downward since April 18, state data show.

Health officials say the totals aren’t precise because many people with COVID-19 symptoms haven’t been tested.

This story was originally published May 2, 2020 at 12:20 PM.