67 new cases, 1 more COVID-19 death in Mecklenburg, county and state report
Mecklenburg County has a total of 1,989 coronavirus cases, according to state health data released Friday morning.
As of Friday morning, county health officials say 60 people with COVID-19 have died in Mecklenburg.
Mecklenburg added 67 new cases from the previous day’s report of 1,922, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported. Roughly two-thirds of the Mecklenburg County people who tested positive for the virus have been released from isolation, the county has said.
The county has seen a spike in reported cases this week, hitting a new high in daily reported cases Wednesday, with 92 cases reported. Mecklenburg County public health director Gibbie Harris said Thursday the county expects to see more cases reported as the county increases testing among residents.
But the percentage of positive cases out of all tests has slightly decreased as testing increases, the county reported.
Mecklenburg, which unlike the state only reports cases among county residents, reported 1,983 cases on Friday, up from 1,932 reported by Harris Thursday.
Statewide, DHHS reported 471 new cases Friday, for a total of 13,868, and 20 more deaths, for a total of 527.
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 May 6 — the last date demographic data was available — county coronavirus data show:
▪ An average of about 57 people with lab-confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized at acute-care facilities in the past week. Those numbers reflect a decrease over the past two weeks, according to Mecklenburg health officials.
▪ An average of 7.5% of people who were tested were positive, showing a slight decrease in the trend over the last two weeks, health officials say.
▪ About 3 in 4 people diagnosed with COVID-19 locally were adults ages 20 to 59.
▪ About 1 in 6 people diagnosed were hospitalized due to their illness. People age 60 or older were more likely to need hospital care compared to younger people with coronavirus.
▪ Mecklenburg reported 11 congregate living centers experiencing active COVID-19 outbreaks, meaning two or more cases of the virus. Harris said Thursday one of the previously reported 12 facilities has been cleared of “active outbreak” status, meaning no new cases have emerged in 28 days.
▪ More than half of the county’s reported COVID-19 deaths were connected to outbreaks at long-term care facilities.
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 8, 2020 at 11:15 AM.
