COVID-19 in Charlotte: Improved positivity rate, fewer hospitalized in the past week 

The number of hospitalizations per day and Mecklenburg County’s positivity rate of COVID-19 tests are — for the first time in months — starting to drop.

It could be several more weeks before it’s clear whether recent data indicates the start of a trend or becomes outlier in the overall trajectory of the virus locally.

Mecklenburg health officials on Tuesday released new data showing the county’s weekly average positivity rate — less than 9% — is now slightly lower than it was in all of July and June.

And, for the first time since late April, the number of people hospitalized per day in Mecklenburg fell — albeit slightly — for one week straight, according to the data. During the week ending Aug. 2, an average of 183 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized in and around Charlotte.

That’s a marked improvement from recent weeks when hospitalizations steadily climbed, as the Observer has previously reported. The Charlotte area saw its single-day high of hospitalizations on July 26, with 210 people hospitalized with COVID-19, county health data show.

Still, government and health leaders say they’re concerned too many young people are ignoring social distancing and North Carolina’s mask mandate, which they say has led to more infections and a decrease in the average age of hospital COVID patients.

And despite some metrics showing possible improvement, more people died in Mecklenburg from COVID-19 in July — 64 — than in any other month since the start of the pandemic.

Coronavirus positive rate in Charlotte

The test positivity rate has also declined. An average of 8.9% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19 during the past week, down from 10.0% the week prior. These data only include tests conducted by Atrium Health, Novant Health, CVS Health and Walgreens Pharmacy. Those providers conduct the majority of tests locally.

And, a Charlotte Observer analysis of county data shows the overall growth of lab-confirmed cases is tracking closely with the gradual increase in COVID-19 testing — another marked difference than earlier in the summer when coronavirus cases were growing much faster than testing alone would explain.

Still, the news comes as North Carolina reports more than 2,000 total deaths due to the virus, including 222 people dead in Mecklenburg.

Though key metrics to track the virus are showing signs of possible improvement, the county continues to add new cases. Two new active outbreaks have been reported in Charlotte in the past week, one at Pelican Health at Randolph and the other at Pelican Health on East 5th Street.

Mecklenburg is now the site of 36 active outbreaks in congregate living settings, a category that includes group homes, senior living facilities, rehab centers, nursing homes and the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. An outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases in one facility or location, according to the state.

Also Tuesday, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported that Meckleburg added 301 new cases from the previous day. That figure is nearly double the number of new cases reported Monday and follows five days of a general decline in the daily caseload.

Mecklenburg County has seen a total of 21,316 coronavirus cases, according to state health data. The number is cumulative since mid-March. Statewide, DHHS reported 28 more deaths for a total of 2,010. The state also added 1,629 new cases Tuesday, for a total of 128,161.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of Aug. 2 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ Most people — about 60% of nearly 21,000 cases — were adults under the age of 40. People older than 60 account for less than 12% of all cases reported but 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 3 out of 4 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 217 deaths recorded as of Aug. 2 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Twenty-nine of the people who died were between the ages of 40 to 59, and three people were under the age of 40.