Key COVID metrics fall in Mecklenburg but positivity rate stays above 10%
Mecklenburg County’s daily coronavirus caseload has slowed in recent weeks, with several key COVID-19 metrics falling to levels not seen since early December.
The 7-day average of new infections fell to 581 on Friday — an 18% decrease over the last two weeks, data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services show. The weekly average caseload had climbed as high as 936 on Jan. 12.
But the current number of average daily positive tests is still more than double the volume seen in early November — and almost five times higher than October.
Mecklenburg has recorded 89,056 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, N.C. DHHS reported Friday afternoon. Over the last 14 days, the county saw 794 infections for every 100,000 residents.
Positivity rate
The percent of positive COVID-19 tests among Mecklenburg residents is 10.5%, as of Wednesday, the latest data available.
Better or worse: This metric has improved slightly in recent weeks. Over the last two weeks, it saw a roughly 17% decrease. And compared to one month ago, it’s dropped by 34%.
The figure is still high compared to the fall, when the Charlotte area was in a brief stabilization period, seeing fewer infections, hospitalizations and a positivity rate at or below 5% (a threshold world health leaders see as necessary before pandemic-related restrictions should be eased).
Hospital capacity
Over the last week, an average of 340 coronavirus patients were hospitalized. That’s 200 fewer patients compared to a mid-January peak, when Atrium Health and Novant Health reported their greatest strain to date following holiday gatherings.
Better or worse: The current hospital census is about 1.7 times as high as the July peak. Hospitals in the Charlotte region have hundreds of available ventilators, though the supply of intensive care unit and inpatient hospital beds remains tight, according to state health data.
COVID deaths
Mecklenburg health officials say 797 residents have died of coronavirus-related complications. Nearly half of all fatalities are linked to outbreaks at long-term care facilities, like nursing homes.
Though adults ages 60 and older make up less than 14% of all infections, they account for the majority of COVID-19 deaths. Mecklenburg has also logged 13 deaths among adults ages 20-39, and 92 deaths among adults ages 40-59. Twenty residents who died did not have underlying chronic illnesses.
Emerging trend: Younger adults and residents without underlying chronic illnesses died at a sharply higher volume in January, likely signaling the sheer volume of cases that circulated throughout holiday gatherings, the Observer reported Friday.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 4:39 PM.