Mecklenburg saw triple-digit coronavirus increases for 7 straight days, state says
Mecklenburg County has seen a triple-digit single-day increase every day in the last week, according to state data.
The county added 151 new cases from the previous day, for a total of 4,670 coronavirus cases, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday. The number is cumulative since mid-March.
Mecklenburg saw its first triple-digit single-day increase in cases on May 14, according to state data. As of Wednesday, state data show the county had a triple-digit increase on 10 of the last 14 days.
Hospitalizations and percentage of positive COVID-19 tests have increased in the last two weeks too.
“These increasing trends are a clear sign that COVID-19 continues to spread throughout our community,” county Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said Friday in a statement. “With expanded testing and increased commercial and recreational activity, we anticipated these increases.”
Health officials say 96 people with COVID-19 have died locally, as of Wednesday. More than half of those were people connected to nursing homes or long-term care facilities, according to the health department.
Statewide, DHHS reported 888 new cases Wednesday, for a total of 30,777, and 18 more deaths, for a total of 939.
Mecklenburg COVID-19 update
As of May 31 — the last date demographic data was available — county coronavirus data show:
▪ An average of about 85 people with lab-confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized at acute-care facilities in the past week. Those numbers reflect an increase over the past two weeks, according to Mecklenburg health officials.
▪ An average of 9.4% of people who were tested were positive, showing a slight increase 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.
▪ Around 2 in 3 cases have met the criteria to be released from isolation.
▪ About 1 in 10 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.
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.
