Mecklenburg County coronavirus cases top 2,200 with 63 deaths
Mecklenburg has seen a total of 2,283 coronavirus cases, according to county health officials late Wednesday. The number is cumulative since mid-March.
Health officials say 63 people with COVID-19 have died locally. No new deaths have been reported since Sunday.
About two-thirds of Mecklenburg County residents who tested positive for the virus have been released from isolation, the county said Tuesday.
Statewide, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 470 new cases, for a total of 15,816, and 20 more deaths, for a total of 597.
Eligibility for coronavirus testing in the county is changing and the county is working on scaling up testing. So far about 3.2% of the county, or 36,000 people, have been tested, county Health Director Gibbie Harris said late last week. The new plan would put the proportion of county residents tested at over 8%.
The latest projected peak for the Charlotte area is in late July, according to Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods, who said Tuesday he believes hospitals have sufficient capacity to serve COVID-19 and other patients without resources being overwhelmed.
Mecklenburg COVID-19 update
As of May 10 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:
▪ An average of about 54 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% of people who were tested were positive, showing a “slight” decrease over the last 14 days, health officials say. The figure includes only COVID-19 tests conducted by Atrium Health and Novant Health.
▪ 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 more likely to need hospital care compared to younger people with coronavirus.
Health officials say the totals may only be a snapshot because many people with COVID-19 symptoms haven’t been tested.
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 13, 2020 at 11:03 AM.