Mecklenburg County COVID-19 infection rate is ‘stable,’ health department data says
State and local health department data show that COVID-19 cases in Mecklenburg County are leveling off.
The county is currently experiencing low exposure levels for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention community levels transmission map.
Since Sept. 18, there have been 1,726 confirmed cases reported in Mecklenburg County, according to data from the CDC. That’s a 2% decrease from the previous week. There were also 12 deaths reported since Sept. 3.
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.
“The COVID-19 situation in the community continues to be stable,” Mecklenburg County Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington said during a public health update on Monday. “We are continuing to monitor our data very closely to see what’s happening with COVID in the community.”
RELATED: Here are the latest numbers on COVID-19 cases, deaths in Charlotte and across NC
What Charlotte wastewater surveillance reveals
Of the three wastewater treatment sites in the Charlotte area, only one, in Huntersville, is in the highest percentile -- between 80% to 100% -- for the amount of COVID-19 virus particles detected.
“Wastewater data continue to show declines in the level of virus in the wastewater supply,’‘ said Washington. “Our case counts and hospitalizations have also declined over the last several weeks.”
Wastewater data usually corresponds with the number of cases reported in a particular area, Virginia Guidry, the branch head for occupational and environmental epidemiology at NCDHHS, told The Charlotte Observer in July.
Data from the NCDHHS COVID-19 Dashboard shows that virus particles in Mecklenburg County has decreased nearly every week since July 23.
The number of virus particles found in wastewater can be an early signal to determine whether COVID-19 in a community is rising or falling, according to NCDHHS.
“We’re pretty confident in our wastewater data as a way to measure what’s going on in the community,” Guidry said. “And it captures both symptomatic and asymptomatic folks regardless of whether they get tested, and that is one of the real advantages of wastewater monitoring.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 12:00 PM.
