Mecklenburg sees 328 new cases of COVID-19 as state hospitalization numbers increase

Health officials reported an additional 328 COVID-19 cases in Mecklenburg County Thursday, bringing the total since mid-March to 18,403.

As of Wednesday, 186 people with the novel coronavirus have died locally.

There are 1,188 hospitalizations for COVID-19 across North Carolina, an increase from Wednesday, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported.

DHHS reported 1,892 new cases statewide, for a total of 106,893. State health officials reported 28 additional deaths Thursday, bringing to total number of deaths in the state to 1,726.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of July 19 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ During the past week, an average of 190 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized at acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County. Health officials say this trend represents a slight increase over the past two weeks. The number of people needing hospital-level care with COVID-19 has been steadily increasing locally since May.

▪An average of 10.9% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19 during the past week. Mecklenburg County Public Health says this represents a stable trend over the last 14 days. The data only include tests conducted by Atrium Health, Novant Health and CVS Health.

▪ Most people — about 60% of more than 16,600 cases — were adults under the age of 40. People older than 60 account for less than 12% of all cases reported but about 85% of all deaths.

▪ After symptoms of coronavirus subside, a person diagnosed may be “released” from isolation under CDC guidelines. In Mecklenburg, roughly half of the people who tested positive have met the criteria to end isolation, according to local health officials.

▪ About 1 in 20 people diagnosed were hospitalized due to their illness. People age 60 or older were more likely to need hospital care compared to younger people.

▪ More than half of those who have died from COVID-19 locally were connected to “active outbreaks” in long-term care facilities or nursing homes. Still, three of the 169 deaths recorded as of July 19 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Twenty-three of the people who died were between the ages of 40 to 59, and three people were under the age of 40.

This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 1:58 PM.