Mecklenburg adds 212 new COVID-19 cases, no additional deaths

Mecklenburg County added 212 new coronavirus cases Monday for a total of 19,480, according to state health data. The number of total cases is cumulative since mid-March.

The 212 additional cases is below the average number of daily new cases added for the past seven days and for the past 14 days. For the past seven days, the average of new cases reported daily was 272, and for the past two weeks, the average was 297.

The average number of daily cases reported over a two-week period has been decreasing since July 23. On that day, the average was 332.

A total of 188 people with COVID-19 have died in Mecklenburg. No new deaths have been reported since Saturday, according to county health officials.

Statewide, DHHS reported 1,625 new cases Monday, for a total of 114,338 and five more deaths, for a total of 1,790. There are currently 1,169 people hospitalized with coronavirus in North Carolina. The state has completed over 1.6 million COVID-19 tests.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of July 22 — the last date demographic data were publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ During the past week, an average of 197 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.

▪ A majority of cases — about 60% of more than 18,000 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 than younger people with coronavirus.

▪ More than half of the people who have died from COVID-19 locally were connected to active outbreaks in long-term care facilities or nursing homes. Still, three of the 186 deaths recorded as of July 22 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Twenty-four of the people who died were between the ages of 40 and 59, and three people were under the age of 40.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 1:45 PM.