Mecklenburg County hits highest daily number of COVID-19 cases – by far – figures show
Mecklenburg County has hit its highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases by far, state figures show, amid increased testing. There were no additional deaths.
State health officials Saturday reported nearly 200 new COVID-19 cases in Mecklenburg. The previous highest daily count was 119 cases.
Mecklenburg has had 3,142 cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to state figures.
That’s a jump of 188 cases from the 2,954 total lab-confirmed Mecklenburg cases reported as of Friday by the state.
On Friday, Mecklenburg County health officials said a 43-year-old person who had no previously known health conditions died locally from COVID-19. That was the first time county officials identified a coronavirus-related death of someone who didn’t have an underlying condition, the Observer reported..
A total of 73 people in Mecklenburg have died with COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
All but one were 50 or older and had underlying health conditions, health officials said.
Of the deaths reported, nearly half were connected to long-term care centers or nursing homes.
NC tops 1,000 new cases for first time
North Carolina as a whole topped 1,000 new coronavirus cases for first time Saturday, as testing significantly increased, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.
“Both the number of reported COVID-19 cases In North Carolina, and the number of recorded tests, took the largest jumps on Saturday since the state has been reporting them,” according to the newspaper.
The state Department of Health and Human Services reported that 10% of the latest tests were positive, “higher than in recent weeks,” the News and Observer reported. “But counting all tests, the overall positive rate has dropped over time, and is now below 7%.”
The number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped by 1,107 Saturday and the number of tests by 26,385, the newspaper reported.
Saturday was the first full day of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Phase Two reopening of the state. Salons, barbershops, public swimming pools and dine-in areas of restaurants were allowed to open..
▪ An average of about 62 people with lab-confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized at acute-care facilities in the past week. Those numbers reflect a “slight increase over the past two weeks, according to Mecklenburg health officials.
▪ About 3 in 4 people diagnosed with COVID-19 locally were adults ages 20 to 59 years old.
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 23, 2020 at 2:17 PM.