Mecklenburg’s COVID death toll rose sharply in August during delta variant surge

Nearly 70 Mecklenburg County residents died of coronavirus-related complications in August. That’s about quadruple the number of lives lost in July, according to an Observer analysis of county public health data.

The sharp uptick in COVID-19 deaths comes as the Charlotte region reels from the latest surge in infections caused by the highly contagious delta variant.

In the past week alone, Mecklenburg health officials reported 26 additional COVID-19 deaths deaths. In the week prior, there were 22 deaths.

As of Friday morning, the local death toll had reached 1,072. Nearly all deaths occurred in adults ages 60 and older and with underlying health conditions, officials said.

But 21 deaths involved residents ages 20 to 39, and 156 deaths involved residents ages 40 to 59.

Over the past two weeks, Mecklenburg officials say about 8% of almost 50 total deaths involved residents ages 20 to 39. About 38% of deaths were among adults ages 40 to 59, and 54% were among adults ages 60 and older.

Nearly 40% of all COVID-19 deaths are linked to outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including nursing homes.

Hospitalizations in Mecklenburg

The average number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in Mecklenburg County reached 450 in the past week. That’s a nearly 200% increase over last month.

Local doctors say the spike in hospitalizations is overwhelmingly driven by unvaccinated people and the delta variant. Only 53% of Mecklenburg residents are fully vaccinated, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

In a news conference Thursday, leaders from Atrium Health, Novant Health and CaroMont Health urged people to get their COVID-19 shots. The doctors, wary of a post-Labor Day surge that may overwhelm already strained hospital systems, also pleaded for people to stay vigilant and follow coronavirus guidelines.

The latest joint hospitalization data from Atrium, Novant and CaroMont show:

▪ Of the 933 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, 92% were unvaccinated. That translates into 857 unvaccinated patients and 76 vaccinated patients.

▪ Of the 126 COVID patients on life support, 97% were unvaccinated. That translates into 122 unvaccinated patients and four vaccinated patients.

Mecklenburg COVID trends

Health experts predict coronavirus cases will surge for at least another few weeks, although some metrics may have begun to plateau at a high volume. Here’s the latest data.

▪ On average, Mecklenburg is seeing 550 new coronavirus cases daily, according to N.C. DHHS. That’s a slight improvement from the average caseload of 580 recorded last week.

But at this point last month, the caseload was markedly lower, with about 350 average infections. In June, the average daily caseload had dropped below 40.

▪ Mecklenburg officials say they are aware of 454 breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated residents between March 22 and Sept. 2. Only five new breakthrough infections were discovered in the past week.

Still, the true count of breakthrough cases is likely higher in the Charlotte area. Due to data reporting problems between the state and Mecklenburg, the county health department for now is only relying on self-reported cases during contact tracing.

To be considered a breakthrough case, a person must have completed all vaccine doses within at least the last 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

▪ The average positivity rate was 13.1% in the past week. That’s the same rate recorded two weeks ago.

As recently as mid-July, the rate hovered around 5%, a key threshold Mecklenburg health officials will use when deciding whether to loosen the countywide mask mandate.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 10:37 AM.