County says 62 COVID-19 cases linked to colleges and universities outside Mecklenburg
Sixty-two Mecklenburg County residents connected to higher educational institutions outside the county have tested positive for the coronavirus, health officials said Friday.
Mecklenburg officials reported a total of 31 outbreaks locally in congregate living facilities and three in daycare centers. That’s a slight improvement compared to last week, when there were 33 outbreaks in group living spaces.
Officials also said Friday that two attendees and two staff members of the Republican National Convention tested positive for the virus. Part of the convention, in which delegates renominated President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to second terms, was held in Charlotte on Monday.
Overall, coronavirus metrics in Mecklenburg County have improved over the last month. The latest figures show that over the past week, the percentage of coronavirus tests that were positive was 6.4%.
The number of people hospitalized for the coronavirus has also decreased. In the past two weeks, the number of those patients decreased from 155 to 136 people.
Over the past month, hospitals, clinics and drive-thru test services have administered an average of around 3,300 COVID-19 tests per day, a slight increase compared to early summer. That includes tests from local hospitals as well as Tryon Medical Partners, CVS Health and Walgreens.
The average number of new cases reported daily in Mecklenburg over the past 14 days is 143. Since mid-March, the county has seen a total of 24,847 lab-confirmed cases. On Friday, the county had 103 new cases since the previous day, according to state officials.
Health officials say 290 people with COVID-19 have died locally, as of Thursday evening.
North Carolina reported 1,415 new cases on Friday for a total of 162,491 cases total since March. There have been 2,652 deaths statewide.
