Mecklenburg sets COVID death record as second surge intensifies

Twelve more Mecklenburg County residents have died with COVID-19, a single-day record set late Wednesday as the region grapples with a staggering wave of new infections and hospitalizations.

Mecklenburg’s previous record — 10 fatalities — was logged on Sept. 8. In total, 531 people in the county have died, the health department says. The first fatality was reported at the end of March. Nearly half of all deaths are linked to COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including nursing homes.

Coronavirus is expected to be the third leading causing of death in Mecklenburg in 2020, trailing only cancer and heart disease.

So far this month, 75 county residents have died from the virus, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of public health data. That compares to 63 in November, 33 in October, 75 in September, and 81 in August.

On average over the last week, Mecklenburg is recording four new deaths each day — nearly double the volume seen one month ago, an Observer analysis finds. Public health records show the majority of people who have died locally are 60 or older. The latest data, which included demographic information for 514 fatalities, show seven people between the ages of 20 and 39 died from COVID-19 in Mecklenburg and 67 were between ages 40 and 59.

The coronavirus is deadliest for older adults and people with underlying health conditions. In Mecklenburg, eight of the people who have died had no known chronic conditions, health officials say.

Deaths are considered a lagging indicator in the coronavirus pandemic, reflecting the severity and scope of infections in a community from weeks ago. The high death tally in August, for example, followed the peak level of hospitalizations in Charlotte in late July.

Experts say the number of deaths and hospitalizations can offer some of the most reliable insights into local coronavirus conditions, since they directly show the severity of illness. It’s a more nuanced perspective beyond how widespread cases are, especially mild infections that don’t threaten to overwhelm strained healthcare systems.

Wednesday’s record comes just one day after Mecklenburg moved into the red zone of the state’s county alert system, indicating there is critical community spread of COVID-19 locally. Officials fear Christmas and New Year’s could exacerbate the pace of new infections, which are already surging and shattering daily records.

Mecklenburg reached the alert system’s highest tier with a case rate of 805 infections for every 100,000 residents in the past two weeks. The county has recorded 57,755 cases since the start of the pandemic, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday.

In total, 65 counties are now in the red. That includes all counties in the greater Charlotte region: Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston, Cabarrus, Iredell, Rowan, Cleveland, Lincoln and Stanly.

This story was originally published December 24, 2020 at 8:24 AM.