190 new coronavirus cases in Mecklenburg, state health officials report

Mecklenburg County has seen a total of 7,321 coronavirus cases, according to state health data Monday morning. The number is cumulative since mid-March.

The county added 190 new cases from the previous day, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported.

Health officials say 131 people with COVID-19 have died locally, as of Monday night. Nearly two out of three people who have died in Mecklenburg have been connected to “active outbreaks” at nursing homes or long-term care facilities, according to the health department.

Over the last week, the average number of new cases reported daily in Mecklenburg was 234, up from 181 the week prior. Health experts have said they expect to see an increase in the total number of cases as testing criteria are expanded and more people take a COVID-19 test. Still, the county’s health director has said cases could surge in late summer as less social distancing is observed in Mecklenburg.

Statewide, DHHS reported 983 new cases Monday, for a total of 45,102, and 9 more deaths, for a total of 1,118.

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.

This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 12:46 PM.

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.