Charlotte shatters COVID hospital, caseload records. 2 new school clusters reported.
There are still hundreds of hospital beds and ventilators available in Mecklenburg County, even as the greater Charlotte region grapples with a dizzying influx of coronavirus cases — a large portion of which are likely linked to Thanksgiving gatherings.
Health officials warn the rate of infections could be exacerbated further as more people gather indoors for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.
In Charlotte, what began in mid-October as a modest increase in coronavirus patients hospitalized has morphed into an alarming acceleration: an average of 298 people over the last week, up from less than 200 on average at the end of last month.
Mecklenburg on Wednesday saw a record of patients at one time in the hospital: 331.
Hospitalizations are considered a lagging indicator in the coronavirus pandemic, reflecting the scope and severity of infections from several weeks ago in a community, health experts say. That’s due the incubation period of the virus, plus the amount of time it typically takes for symptoms to worsen.
Put differently, the spike in hospitalizations disclosed Friday now likely incorporates the impact of ill-advised Thanksgiving gatherings.
In the second half of November, hospitalizations climbed by about 21%, according to an Observer analysis of public health data. By comparison, in the first half of December, hospitalizations increased by nearly 36%.
And Friday’s report of new cases in the county — 937 confirmed infections — also set a single-day record, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported. That shatters the previous record of 784 new cases less than two weeks ago. A Charlotte Observer analysis of DHHS data shows the weekly average of daily new cases in the county is 644, up from 370 on Nov. 30 and 372 at the height of the previous peak seen in July.
The cumulative 54,463 cases recorded since the start of the pandemic translates into a rate of 4,905 infections for every 100,000 people. Mecklenburg’s COVID-19 death toll is 513, local officials said Friday afternoon. So far this month, 57 residents have died of coronavirus-related complications.
The spiraling numbers have stark implications for congregate living settings like nursing homes, with 46 facilities now experiencing active outbreaks, according to information released Friday by Mecklenburg County Public Health. Four child care centers or schools are also reporting COVID-19 clusters, including Davidson Day School and Francis Bradley Middle School in Huntersville, the health department said.
“This is the first identified cluster in a CMS facility,” district spokeswoman Yaviri Escalera said in a statement Friday about Bradley Middle School.
“All impacted students and staff were notified last week of confirmed cases and/or the need to quarantine due to close contact with infected persons. No impacted students or staff have been in the building since notification was made.”
Another COVID-19 surge
Hospitals are seeing younger patients than previously in the pandemic, Novant Health infectious disease expert David Priest told reporters Friday.
Many of those patients don’t need ICU beds or ventilators, saving resources for the sickest COVID-19 patients, Priest said. But he said this surge in coronavirus cases has been so large, hospitals are using a large proportion of hospital and ICU beds.
About 285 ventilators are currently in use, with 580 available throughout the Metrolina Healthcare Preparedness Coalition, which encompasses Mecklenburg and a dozen surrounding counties, including Gaston, Iredell, Cabarrus and Union.
About 400 ICU beds are occupied and 65 are available, though 230 are unreported or unstaffed, according to DHHS. And state data show nearly 3,760 inpatient hospital beds are occupied, with 1,035 available.
Priest said the hospitals expect an additional surge after Christmas and New Year’s.
“It would really be tragic for people to get COVID, or people be hospitalized or people to die of COVID, within a few weeks of being able to get a vaccine that would have prevented it,” Priest said. “So we’re asking people to just be smart.”
He said Novant Health is “confident” it will be able to handle the upcoming surge, but urged people to stay home and continue following social distancing guidelines.
Another closely watched coronavirus trend, the positivity rate, also signals a dangerous trajectory for the county.
Of residents tested, 12.1% in the past week were positive, county data show. That’s an increase in recent weeks, despite the relatively stable amount of testing being done per day.
The positivity rate far exceeds the 5% threshold partially used by the state health officials and the World Health Organization when contemplating reopening decisions. A higher positivity rate signals the virus is increasingly prevalent in Mecklenburg, complicating the efforts of contact tracers and case investigators working to stop the chain of infections.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 1:39 PM.