Mecklenburg to increase coronavirus testing; hospitals have ‘significant’ surge capacity

Mecklenburg will release plans later this week on expanding coronavirus testing to other “priority” groups in the county, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said Tuesday.

Harris told county commissioners that details of a “tiered” testing approach would be available before Friday, when North Carolina enters Phase 1 of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to gradually loosen social distancing guidelines and reopen some businesses.

Harris did not specify which groups might be “opened up to testing,” though she said decisions will be based on guidance from state and federal public health authorities. Both Atrium Health and Novant Health launched mobile testing programs last month to reach minority communities throughout Charlotte.

Residents who are most at risk for contracting the coronavirus and those experiencing possible symptoms would still be prioritized amid limited testing capacity, Harris said.

There were 1,791 confirmed coronavirus cases and 58 deaths among Mecklenburg County residents as of Tuesday evening. Harris said health officials are closely monitoring the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests, as well as hospitalizations, in the region.

The greater Charlotte area is not expected to reach its coronavirus “peak” until July 14, officials said in their latest projections released earlier Tuesday. Officials had previously said a surge in cases might occur between mid-April and mid-May, and later revised that projection to late June.

Plans to erect a field hospital to accommodate a possible surge in cases are “on the back-burner right now,” Harris said. Leaders from Atrium Health and Novant Health in April previously requested the county’s help in setting up a 600-bed field hospital at the Charlotte Convention.

The stay-at-home order remains in place under Phase 1 of the governor’s plan, Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio emphasized.

Retail businesses could open at 50% capacity, but gatherings are still limited to 10 people. Those gatherings are limited to friends, and are encouraged to be outside.

It could still be weeks before restaurants, bars, gyms and salons are allowed to open with reduced capacity, according to the governor’s plan.

Phase 1 will last until at least May 22, Cooper said, though it could be extended if certain coronavirus metrics — including confirmed cases and hospitalizations — are not “in the right place.”

”Phase 1 in North Carolina is a careful and deliberate next step,” Cooper said in Tuesday’s press briefing. “We have flattened the curve, but we haven’t eliminated COVID-19.”

Flattening the curve

The extended time-frame for the Charlotte area’s peak is due to residents following the stay-at-home order and successfully “flattening the curve” — meaning infections will span a longer period of time, with the goal of not overwhelming hospital resources. Flattening the curve does not equate with reducing the total number of infections, Harris has said.

“Based on our current hospital bed capacity, and our current ventilator and ICU-bed capacity, it does show we would be above our capacity,” Harris told county commissioners, referring to the new coronavirus modeling. “This (does) not take into account the surge capacity hospitals have built out and not implemented yet.”

The surge capacity is “pretty significant” as hospitals treat new coronavirus cases, but Harris stopped short of divulging exact numbers. There’s been a “slight decrease” in hospitalizations over the last seven days, and cases show a “fairly stable progression,” Harris told commissioners.

Earlier pandemic plans had suggested a 3,000-bed field hospital would be potentially needed at UNC Charlotte.

Federal coronavirus funding

Mecklenburg County has received about $39.2 million in federal funding from the CARES Act.

Sarah Cunningham, the county’s chief financial officer, said Mecklenburg has spent approximately $11.8 million so far during the coronavirus pandemic. Some of those expenses could be reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while other initiatives — such as eliminating food deserts, or areas that lack access to healthy food found in grocery stores — could be covered through the CARES Act, Cunningham said.

But Diorio, the county manager, said Mecklenburg should not expect much economic relief from the state, due to the influx of federal money.

County Commissioner Mark Jerrell said Mecklenburg leaders must continue addressing the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on black residents, who comprise almost 44% of the 1,717 confirmed cases through Sunday.

“One other group I want to put on the radar and raise up will be our working families, particularly those with unemployment benefits,” Jerrell said.

County Commissioner Susan Harden pushed for elected officials to be included in the county’s decisions to distribute CARES dollars — echoing mounting concerns that in recent weeks, those leaders have not been consulted in emergency declarations.

“It’s critical that commissioners are allowed to provide strategic input,” Harden said. “It’s critical the community voice be put into those recommendations.”