Mecklenburg County sees biggest one-day jump in coronavirus with 232 new cases
Mecklenburg County saw 232 new coronavirus cases on Friday morning, the biggest daily increase in positive tests for COVID-19 since the county’s first case on March 11. Eighty-nine county residents have died.
The county has recorded a total of 3,837 coronavirus cases, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services Friday morning. The number is cumulative since mid-March. State-reported case totals don’t match county figures because of different reporting times.
Friday’s additional cases reflected a rising trend of local cases in the past week. From May 23 to 29, the average number of new cases reported daily in Mecklenburg was 126. For the week prior, the average was 81.
County officials said trends in daily cases, deaths, hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests have all increased over the past two weeks.
”These increasing trends are a clear sign that COVID-19 continues to spread throughout our community,” public health director Gibbie Harris said in a statement Friday. “With expanded testing and increased commercial and recreational activity, we anticipated these increases. We will continue to monitor our local data closely.”
Harris said local health care systems aren’t experiencing shortages of staff, supplies or beds. But she added that a lack of compliance with health officials’ pleas to avoid gatherings, social distance and wear face coverings is likely accelerating the spread of the virus.
North Carolina has seen a similar increases statewide. DHHS reported 1,076 new cases on Friday, the second-highest increase in a 24-hour period. The only other time the state has reported 1,000 or more new cases was on April 23.
The state also reported the highest number of completed tests in a 24-hour period on Friday.
Mecklenburg health officials say they’re increasing COVID-19 testing and want to nearly double the number of tests administered weekly, which would likely lead to larger daily increases in new cases. So far, the county is slightly behind its goal of testing more than 55,000 people over a 30-day period.
The state is in Phase 2 of reopening, but data is not yet available on new COVID-19 cases that might have emerged as a result of the gradual reopening. New cases can take up to two weeks to identify, according to Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris. That accounts for the time it takes for a person to show symptoms, be tested and receive test results.
County health officials say 89 people with COVID-19 have died locally, as of Thursday evening. More than half of those were people connected to nursing homes or long-term care facilities, according to the health department.
Statewide, DHHS reported Friday that North Carolina has a total of 26,488 cases, and 32 more deaths, for a total of 859.
Mecklenburg COVID-19 update
The latest coronavirus data, as of Wednesday but released Friday, show:
▪ An average of 79 people with lab-confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized at acute-care facilities in the previous week. Those numbers reflect an increase over the past two weeks, county health officials said.
- More than one-third of reported cases are Hispanic, most of them young adults.
▪ An average of 8.2% of people who were tested were positive, also showing an increase over the last 14 days. 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.
▪ Two in 3 cases have met the criteria to be released from isolation.
▪ About 1 in 8 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.
▪ The exact number of people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg with COVID-19 is unknown and many people with the virus have not been tested, health officials say. The case total likely represents a “fraction” of all people with coronavirus, Mecklenburg officials have said.
The Duke Endowment donates to Carolina food banks
Trustees of The Duke Endowment in Charlotte announced on Thursday that they have awarded a $3.5 million grant to Feeding the Carolinas — a network of 10 food banks across North and South Carolina.
“With food insecurity challenging so many more families and individuals during this crisis, food banks are stretching to provide critical support,” Duke Endowment Board Chair Minor Shaw said in a press release.
According to the release, the food banks expect to spend between $1 million and $2 million on food purchase for the next two months.
Staff writer Alison Kuznitz contributed.
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 29, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
