Mecklenburg coronavirus case total tops 7,000. Less social distancing worries health officials.

State health officials on Sunday reported 269 newly-identified coronavirus cases in Mecklenburg County, for a total of 7,131 people diagnosed with COVID-19 since mid-March.

The number of lab-confirmed cases in the county has grown significantly in recent days. Health officials have said that would likely happen as access to testing increased across the state. But Mecklenburg Health Director Gibbie Harris has warned that many have stopped social distancing and observing best practices such as wearing a mask or avoiding large gatherings.

And a key metric, the percent of people tested who are found positive for COVID, has also shown an increase in Mecklenburg in recent weeks.

Harris and others have said there may be a surge in COVID-19 cases in the county in August and September as the state reopens and moves further away from stay-at-home orders. Soon, county officials predict, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County will largely see social distancing at about the same level that existed prior to the coronavirus spread. Mobility and tracking data help officials determine real-time levels of social distancing in the community.

Statewide, the Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,443 new cases Sunday morning, for a total of 44,119, and five more deaths, for a total of 1,109 people.

Locally, 125 people have died with coronavirus, according to health officials on Saturday. That is two additional deaths since Friday. An update was not available Sunday afternoon.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of June 10 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ An average of about 101 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 10% 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.

▪ More than half of 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.

Anna Douglas

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5078

Anna Douglas is The Charlotte Observer’s deputy managing editor and previously worked as an investigative reporter and news editor in the newsroom. Prior to joining the Observer, she worked as a local news reporter for The (Rock Hill) Herald and as a congressional correspondent in Washington, D.C., for McClatchy. Anna is a past recipient of the South Carolina Press Association’s Journalist of the Year award and the Charlotte Society of Professional Journalists’ Outstanding Journalism Award. She’s a South Carolina native, a graduate of Winthrop University, and a past fellow of the Dori Maynard Diversity Leadership Program, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. Anna has lived in Charlotte since May 2017.