247 new COVID-19 cases in Meck. Director says county needs more staff to increase testing

State health officials on Wednesday reported 247 new coronavirus cases in Mecklenburg County. The additional cases come a day after the county’s public health director told elected leaders her department doesn’t have enough staff.

The Observer reported Tuesday Director Gibbie Harris told Mecklenburg County commissioners her staff wasn’t large enough to meet the needs of the ongoing pandemic. The county, Harris says, needs more coronavirus case investigators and contact tracers.

Harris said her employees could handle COVID-19 response now, but expanded testing and more positive cases could require more staffing. Already, Harris said, the county has scaled back a plan that would have provided testing for 20,000 people per day in the Charlotte area.

In a seven-day period ending June 21, about 18,650 people were tested for coronavirus in Mecklenburg County, the most recent health data show. That figure includes only tests administered locally by Novant and Atrium Health, which county officials have said represents the majority of lab tests in Mecklenburg.

In May and June, Mecklenburg health officials nearly doubled the average number of people being tested each week. More testing has led to more cases being reported but health officials have also warned the rise in cases cannot be solely attributed to increased testing.

Wednesday’s additional cases bring the county’s total since March to 9,333, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. As of late Wednesday, 147 Mecklenburg residents have died related to the disease, according to county health officials.

North Carolina has reported 1,721 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the state total to 56,174. DHHS reported 20 new deaths Wednesday, bringing the total statewide deaths to 1,271.

Health officials say 906 people are currently hospitalized in North Carolina.

DHHS secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said the amount of emergency room visits are trending upward.

“Our hospitalizations are at some of their highest levels since the start of this pandemic,” Cohen said Monday. “We still do have capacities in our systems, and we monitor that very, very closely.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert on the White House coronavirus task force, said Tuesday North Carolina’s state and local leaders need to take increased action to stop an increase in “insidious increase in community spread.”

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday the state will not move into Phase Three reopening which would have allowed bars and gyms to reopen. And, Cooper issued an executive order Wednesday requiring masks be worn in most public places, with few exceptions.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of June 21 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ During the past week, an average of 128 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized at acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County. This represents an increase over the last 14 days.

▪An average of 9.4% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19 during the past week. This represents a slight decrease over the last 14 days. These data only include 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 15 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.

▪ Over the past 14 days there has been a decrease in social distancing, based on publicly available mobility data.

This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 1:37 PM.