10 new Mecklenburg COVID-19 cases reported. Two-thirds have been released from isolation
State health officials reported 10 new cases of coronavirus in Mecklenburg County on Monday morning. County health officials said there have been 1,740 cases since mid-March.
Local health department officials say 54 people with COVID-19 have died locally, as of Monday afternoon. Nearly half of Mecklenburg residents who have died are connected to long-term care facilities, according to Mecklenburg County data released last week.
The state earlier Monday had reported 1,734 cases. The county and state reporting windows differ and Mecklenburg’s tally includes only residents.
Statewide, DHHS reported 184 new cases Monday, for a total of 11,848, and eight more deaths, for a total of 430.
Health officials say the totals may only be a snapshot because many people with COVID-19 symptoms haven’t been tested and the continued rise in new cases is due in part to more testing.
Officials said they consider the percentage of those tested who get positive results a more important measure. Those have trended downward since April 18, state data show.
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.
▪ Two-thirds of the people who tested positive have since met CDC guidelines to be released from isolation. That rate is higher than the rate reported on April 27, when county officials said nearly half of people diagnosed with COVID-19 had recovered and been released from isolation.
▪ 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 May 4, 2020 at 11:22 AM.
