What’s behind uptown’s high COVID rate? Plus, how all Charlotte ZIP codes are doing.
A lingering COVID-19 outbreak at the county jail is behind a weeks-long high coronavirus case rate in uptown Charlotte, but that ZIP code and all others in Mecklenburg recorded some improvement over the last week.
It’s the first time Mecklenburg has seen a sweeping decrease in all local ZIP codes since the spring. Case rates spiked in July and August, which the health department mostly attributed to the delta variant and lagging vaccination rates.
On average, 374 county residents per day tested positive for COVID-19 over the last week, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services data released Friday show.
The countywide ZIP code analysis uses only the most recent, or active, infections detected by coronavirus testing. Mecklenburg Public Health typically releases ZIP code-level data weekly and the rate is based on a 14-day average, and takes into account population size.
The countywide average from September 16 to September 29 was 520.5 new cases per 100,000 residents. That’s significantly lower than the previous 14-day average case rate of 623.8. The number was in the 600 range for the past two months.
The latest data on cases from Mecklenburg reflect a slight, steady decrease in both the number of people hospitalized and the county’s positivity rate for the past few weeks.
County health officials reported 20 new coronavirus-related deaths in the past week, bringing the local death toll to 1,180 on Friday morning.
Mecklenburg’s COVID-19 positivity rate fell to an average of 8.9% in the past week, from 10.1% the previous week. It’s a little closer to 5%, where the county needs to be for public health officials to consider easing the countywide indoor mask mandate.
Despite documenting the biggest drop in the county from the last two weeks, uptown still has the highest case rate in Charlotte by a large margin — and it’s kept that spot for the past six weeks. In uptown, the case rate translates to around 1% of residents testing positive for COVID-19.
Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris attributes the high case rate to an outbreak that began in late July in the Mecklenburg County Jail, which is located in ZIP code 28202.
There have been 240 outbreak-related cases at the jail, according to county officials. The figure represents the cumulative number of positive cases in the system since July 30, when the outbreak was first identified. Many of those cases are no longer active, Harris said.
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office reported 52 active cases at the jail last week. As of Oct. 6, there are 14 active cases.
In other ZIP codes, there were big decreases, including in 28278 (Steele Creek) and 28213 (south of University City, including Hidden Valley and neighborhoods along Old Concord Road), which both still have some of the highest case rates in the county.
ZIP code 28036 (Davidson) has consistently reported some of the lowest case rates in the county for weeks.
Other low case rates are in ZIP codes 28277 (Ballantyne) and 28207 (neighborhoods in Eastover along Providence and Randolph Roads).
COVID-19 case rates by ZIP code
This data comes from Mecklenburg County Public Health and includes positive COVID-19 test results, based on a person’s home ZIP code, between Sept. 16 and Sept. 29.
Below 500 cases per 100,000 residents:
28036: 160.8
28277: 347.1
28207: 386.3
28210: 410.8
28217: 411.8
28226: 426.5
28211: 432.4
28209: 447.3
28205: 461.8
28204: 486.7
28212: 493.3
Case rates between 500-600:
28269: 520.4
28270: 537.7
28227: 542.0
28105: 546.5
28262: 551.8
28031: 571.6
28078: 572.9
Between 600-700:
28203: 613.9
28215: 626.0
28206: 633.0
28214: 638.3
28273: 658.6
28134: 660.6
28216: 671.8
Above 700:
28278: 703.5
28213: 717.3
28208: 719.3
28202: 1,124.5
Gavin Off contributed.
Correction: This story was corrected Oct. 7 to indicate that 52 cases were active in the jail as of the week of Sept. 27, and updated to include the latest data. The county’s calculated rate includes all recent cases associated with the outbreak.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 7:51 AM.
