Mecklenburg positive test rate for COVID-19 decreases as local facilities see new outbreaks

The test positivity rate for COVID-19 in Mecklenburg County has dipped slightly in recent weeks though hospitalizations for the virus remain high.

Health officials reported Tuesday that for the week ending July 26 — the last date for which data is available — an average of 10.1% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19.

That number is down from an average of 10.9% during the week ending July 19 and 11.4% the week prior. These data only include tests conducted by Atrium Health, Novant Health and CVS Health.

Hospitalizations remain high, however, as an average of 197 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized during the week ending July 26. Officials say this trend represents an increase over the past two weeks.

The number of people needing hospital-level care with COVID-19 has been steadily increasing locally since May, reaching more than 200 hospitalizations in one day for the first time in mid-July.

Also Tuesday, Meckleburg health officials reported three new living facility outbreaks. Mallard Group Home and Sardis Oaks in Charlotte, as well as Williams Place Independent Living in Davidson, join a list a 33 local congregate living facilities with active outbreaks — defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases according to state health officials.

Mecklenburg’s total coronavirus cases has now reached 19,707, according to state health officials. The number is cumulative since mid-March.

The county added 227 new cases from the previous day, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported. The county has been adding an average of 272 new cases a day over the past week.

Health officials say 189 people with COVID-19 have died locally, as of Monday.

Statewide, DHHS reported 1,749 new cases Tuesday, for a total of 116,087, and 30 more deaths, for a total of 1,820.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of July 26 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ Most people — about 60% of more than 19,400 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, nearly 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 with coronavirus.

▪ More than half of those 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 188 deaths recorded as of July 26 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Twenty-four of the people who died were between the ages of 40 to 59, and three people were under the age of 40.