Mecklenburg’s COVID-19 positivity rate has hit its lowest point since the spring

The average positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in Mecklenburg County has hit its lowest point of the last nine weeks, new data released Friday show.

County officials report that 8.7% of people tested were diagnosed with coronavirus. That’s a weekly average of the percent of positive tests performed between July 29 to Aug. 5, the most recent data available.

The positivity rates for June and July hovered between 10 and 11 percent. In late May, the average weekly rate was close to 8.5%.

Mecklenburg added 172 new COVID-19 cases Friday according to the state Department of Health and Human Services, bringing the county’s total to 21,876 since mid-March.

Over the last seven days, the average number of new local cases reported per day is about 202 cases. This is the lowest seven-day average of new cases since mid-June, according to an Observer analysis of state health data.

Friday’s release of new data also indicates hospitalizations, on average, are at the lowest point in 30 days.

The data further illustrates an overall improvement in key COVID-19 metrics in recent days in Charlotte, as the Observer has previously reported.

Health care leaders, though, warn that the trend may be reversed if social distancing and precautions, such as wearing a mask, aren’t followed.

The virus remains deadly for many people: 16 have died from COVID-19 so far in August in Mecklenburg, including five additional deaths reported late Thursday. The data indicates a slightly higher number of fatalities per day has occurred in recent weeks, compared to earlier in the summer.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 230 people have died in Mecklenburg County, according to health officials.

Statewide, DHHS reported 1,545 new cases Friday, for a total of 132,812, and 42 more deaths, for a total of 2,134. The state has completed 1,691,434 coronavirus tests, according to health officials.

Mecklenburg COVID-19 update

As of Aug. 5 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ During the past week, an average of 170 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized in Mecklenburg County. This represents a decrease over the past two weeks, officials said.

▪ Most people diagnosed locally — about 60% of more than 21,000 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.

▪ About 3 of every 4 cases identified so far are no longer active and the people diagnosed are no longer required to isolate.

▪ 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 225 deaths recorded as of Aug. 5 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.

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 1:35 PM.