Mecklenburg remains in code yellow for COVID, but spike in cases may be slowing
COVID numbers seem to be stabilizing in Mecklenburg County after a small spike in cases in late May, new state data show.
Earlier this month, Mecklenburg County announced it moved back into “code yellow,” or medium level community spread of COVID, for the first time in months due to the spike in cases.
At the time, local experts predicted the surge in COVID cases in Mecklenburg would be short-lived.
“I don’t think we’re going to continue on a steep incline,” Atrium Health infectious disease expert Dr. Katie Passaretti told reporters last week. “I think we’re hitting near the top of this little wave and it will start to come down before too much longer.”
Passaretti said the spike may have been caused by students getting out of school, increased travel and social gatherings and Memorial Day activities.
She cautioned that there could be a week or two of rising cases to come followed by stabilizing numbers.
But data released by the NC Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday show the recent spike in cases may be on the decline.
The highest weekly tally of cases hit 3,066 cases in Mecklenburg during the week ending May 21 — still far below Mecklenburg’s all time peak for COVID cases in January. In one week at the beginning of January, the county recorded 23,604 cases, according to NCDHHS data.
Weekly cases in Mecklenburg have been slowly declining since the last week of May. In the most recent data available, during the week ending June 11, the county recorded 2,651 total cases of the coronavirus.
‘Promising signs’ about COVID
Though the decline in cases is promising, current case numbers are still above this year’s low point. In one week in mid-March, Mecklenburg reported just 289 cases.
But it’s a good sign that even though the county saw a jump in COVID cases, hospitalization levels have remained manageable, Passaretti said.
What’s more, deaths from COVID have slowed since the county’s peak in January.
In fact, the county reported no deaths from COVID one week in April for the first time since a week in June 2021. Since April, Mecklenburg County has seen another two weeks with no deaths reported due to the virus.
In the most recent data reported, during the week ending June 11, two people died in Mecklenburg County due to COVID, according to state data. In total, 1,653 people have died from the coronavirus in Mecklenburg County as of June 11.
Health experts still say COVID isn’t going away. The goal instead is for the virus to become endemic, Passaretti said. That would mean the virus would stick around but cause fewer and more manageable spikes, and minimal hospitalizations and deaths — more like the influenza virus.
The fact that Mecklenburg hospitals have been able to manage the recent jump in cases is a good sign that the county may be getting closer to the endemic timeframe, Passaretti said.
She cautioned that COVID is unpredictable, but added: “There are certainly some promising signs.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 2:29 PM.
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