Slight dip in Meck’s COVID-19 positivity rate. NC reports 241 more cases in Charlotte area

On Friday, state health officials reported 241 new coronavirus cases in Mecklenburg County. Since mid-March, the county has seen 20,502 total cases.

For the fourth continuous week, county health data show the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in Mecklenburg has modestly declined.

The weekly average of the percent of positive tests is now at 9.6%, Mecklenburg health officials said in an update Friday. The data includes tests from CVS Pharmacy, Atrium Health, Novant Health and Walgreens Pharmacy.

That’s a slight improvement over recent weeks but still a higher positivity rate than in May, for example, when testing capabilities more than doubled and access opened to potentially-asymptomatic people. Then, the positivity rate was 6 to 8%, and health experts said that partially indicated the effectiveness of social distancing and prior restrictions on travel.

Friday’s release of new data is the first time in seven weeks that the percent of positive tests locally has dipped down to single digits, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis. Over the same timeframe, the number of new cases reported each day has fluctuated. On average, county health data show the number of new cases trending up each week throughout late spring and early summer. More recently, the average number of new cases per day has been lower.

Hospitalizations, though, have remained stubbornly high, with an average of 198 people hospitalized with COVID-19 per day in Mecklenburg. That number has been on the rise for the last three months.

For the month of July, the average single-day increase in cases was 301, according to Observer analysis of state data. The number represents an increase from the average daily increase the last two months, with June at 231 and May at 85.

As of late Thursday, 202 Mecklenburg County residents have died related to the virus, health officials said.

Almost all deaths in Mecklenburg were adults 60 or older, but three deaths occurred in adults aged 20 to 39, and 27 were in adults aged 40 to 59.

The Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,954 new cases in North Carolina on Friday, bringing the total number of reported cases to 122,148.

DHHS reported 21 additional deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,924. As of Friday, 1,229 people were hospitalized across the state.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of July 29 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ During the past week, health officials say an average of 197 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized at acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County. However, a Charlotte Observer analysis of data from the county’s “daily hospital census” shows the average is 198 people.

▪An average of 9.6% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19 during the past week. Mecklenburg County Public Health says this represents a slight decrease over the last 14 days. These data only include tests conducted by Atrium Health, Novant Health, CVS Health and Walgreens Pharmacy. Those providers administer the majority of tests locally.

▪ Most people — about 60% of nearly 20,000 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, three out of four 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.

▪ About 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 201 deaths recorded as of July 29 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Twenty-seven of the people who died were between the ages of 40 to 59, and three people were under the age of 40.