These six Charlotte area counties are seeing spikes in COVID-19 transmission
Multiple counties around the Charlotte area are seeing high levels of COVID-19 transmission, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
On June 3, Mecklenburg County moved up to code yellow or medium level exposure last Friday, officials said.
Levels can be low, medium, or high, and are determined by the CDC community levels map that examines available hospital bed capacity, COVID hospital admissions and new cases in an area to determine the severity of transmission.
Mecklenburg had been in the low community burden of illness tier since the CDC launched the community levels map in March.
But from May 7 to June 4, there were 11,706 cases reported in Mecklenburg County, an 88% increase from the previous four-week period, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Data from the CDC indicated that Mecklenburg County isn’t the only county experiencing a significant increase in community spread.
Six other counties in the Charlotte area – Cabarrus, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Rowan and Union – have also moved up to medium-level exposure, according to CDC metrics.
How many cases have been reported in each county?
Here’s how many cases have been reported in each county over the last seven days, according to the CDC:
Cabarrus: 537
Catawba: 285
Gaston: 450
Iredell: 400
Rowan: 293
Union: 523
While a small number of cases have been reported relative to their populations each week, data from the CDC show that the week-over-week percent change in each county ranges from -19.94% in Catawba County to 18.15% in Rowan County.
COVID-19 positivity rate climbs above 20 percent in some NC counties
Data from the CDC show that 1 in 5 people in the six counties has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, well above the 5% positivity threshold set by the World Health Organization in 2020 as criteria for safely reopening communities.
Here is the positivity rate for each county among tests performed over the last seven days, according to the CDC:
Cabarrus: 21.57%
Catawba: 16.32%
Gaston: 18.88%
Iredell: 20.51%
Rowan: 19.05%
Union: 19.55%
The vaccination rate for outlying counties falls behind Mecklenburg County
In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County leads the way in percent of population that is fully vaccinated, with 64.9% of people having received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Here is the percentage of people who are fully vaccinated in the other counties with medium-level exposure, according to the CDC:
Cabarrus: 58.5%
Catawba: 56.9%
Gaston: 51.7%
Iredell: 54.2%
Rowan: 45.7
Union: 57%
What prevention steps should you take?
If you live in a county with medium level exposure, it is recommended to wear a mask and take other precautions, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and getting tested if you have symptoms.
The CDC this month indicated that 67% of the American population was in a “high or medium” COVID-19 community level and advised indoor mask wearing.
People with symptoms, a positive test or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask, the CDC says.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
