Mecklenburg County surpasses 5,500 coronavirus cases, records 7 more deaths

Seven more county residents have died of novel coronavirus-related complications, Mecklenburg officials said Saturday night. That brings the local death total to 113 as Mecklenburg also grapples with big spikes in COVID-19 infections.

Mecklenburg County has seen a total of 5,509 coronavirus cases since mid-March, according to state health data Sunday morning.

The county added 151 new cases from the previous day, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported. But on Saturday, there were 301 new cases — the largest single-day increase so far during the coronavirus pandemic.

Local health officials have said the steep upticks in cases stem from expanded coronavirus testing efforts, as well as more recreational and commercial activities taking place during the governor’s phased approach to reopening businesses.

In recent weeks, there’s been a decline in social distancing, but increases in hospitalizations and the percentage of people testing positive for the virus, local data show.

More than half of all local deaths were connected to outbreaks at nursing homes or long-term care facilities, according to the health department.

Statewide, DHHS reported 921 new cases Sunday, for a total of 35,546, and four more deaths, for a total of 996.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of June 3 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ An average of about 90 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 9.6% of people who were tested were positive, showing an 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, health officials say, and many people with the virus have not been tested. The case total likely represents a fraction of all people with coronavirus, Mecklenburg officials have said.