COVID deaths, hospitalizations rise in Mecklenburg as delta variant surge continues

Eighteen Mecklenburg County residents died of coronavirus-related complications in the past week, officials said Friday.

That is a significant uptick in fatalities compared to recent weeks, as COVID-19 cases again surge around Charlotte amid the highly transmissible delta variant. As recently as early July, the weekly death toll had hovered around five.

From Aug. 5-18, one-third of Mecklenburg deaths were among residents ages 40-59, officials said. The other deaths involved residents ages 60 and older.

Vaccinations, which health experts say are extremely effective against severe illness and death, had contributed to a slowing rate of fatalities in Mecklenburg this spring and summer. But only 55% of residents are at least partially vaccinated, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported Friday morning.

Rising COVID death toll

Earlier this month, Mecklenburg reached a somber pandemic milestone: 1,000 COVID deaths.

Deaths are considered a lagging indicator in the pandemic, trailing behind the sharp rise in infections and hospitalizations.

Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris this week said that half of the recent deaths involved Black residents, who also lag countywide vaccination rates.

The local death toll is 1,024 as of Friday morning.

On July 30, Mecklenburg’s death toll was 998. The following week, on Aug. 6, only two additional deaths were reported. A week later, on Aug. 13, six more deaths were recorded.

Breakthrough infections

Mecklenburg County health officials say they are aware of 432 breakthrough cases, or infections among people who are fully vaccinated. The data spans March 22 to Aug. 18, when nearly 28,000 total cases were reported in Mecklenburg.

To be considered a breakthrough case, a person must have completed all vaccine doses within at least the last 14 days, according to the CDC. As of Aug. 9, the CDC said 8,054 breakthrough cases across the United States led to hospitalization or death.

Last week, Mecklenburg officials had reported 412 breakthrough cases.

Mecklenburg’s true breakthrough infection total could be far higher, though. Local health official are relying on self-reported cases during contact tracing investigations, as they struggle to obtain more comprehensive data from N.C. DHHS.

Mecklenburg COVID trends

Mecklenburg County commissioners voted on imposing a countywide mask mandate this week alongside concern overCOVID-19 metrics. Here are the latest numbers.

▪ Mecklenburg County added 686 new coronavirus cases on Friday, N.C. DHHS reported. That is the largest single-day increase since late January, when Charlotte was also experiencing a COVID-19 surge fueled by Christmas and New Year’s gatherings.

On average, Mecklenburg is logging 545 new cases each day, according to an Observer analysis of state health data. One month ago, the average daily caseload was 126.

▪ The average rate of positive COVID-19 tests in Mecklenburg was 13.2% in the past week, local officials said. That’s a slight increase from 13% a week ago.

In mid-July, the positivity rate fell below 5%. That’s a crucial threshold Mecklenburg officials will rely on when deciding to loosen the countywide mask mandate, which takes effect Aug. 31.

In the interim, Charlotte, Davidson, Matthews and unincorporated parts of the county are requiring masks be worn in indoor public settings, regardless of people’s vaccination status.

▪ The average number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Mecklenburg was 368 in the past week, local officials said. That compares to 59 a month ago.

The daily hospital census for coronavirus patients reached 392 on Wednesday, the most recent day data is available. Novant Health on Thursday said the system recorded a nearly 1,600% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the last six weeks.