Correction: An earlier version of this story overstated the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the Charlotte area. Two people tested positive in Mecklenburg County, but only one lives in the county. The other person lives in Cabarrus County.

The first two cases of people testing presumptive positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, have been reported in Mecklenburg County, officials said Thursday.

Statewide, Gov. Roy Cooper and N.C. health officials say large gatherings of 100 or more people should be canceled or postponed to reduce health risks.

Mecklenburg County has recommended that older adult, long-term care facilities restrict visitors. The county is also recommending that people over 65 avoid any type of mass gathering — that includes church services, said public health director GibbieHarris.

One of the people who tested positive in Mecklenburg County is a county resident, according to a county statement. The other is a Cabarrus County resident, Harris said Friday.

Both Mecklenburg cases are isolated incidents, the county said in its statement. And both people are self-isolating at home, Harris said. Harris said the county got the test results at about 11:30 pm Wednesday.

Mecklenburg County said one person’s case may be related to out-of-country travel and the other to out-of-state travel. It was not immediately clear if either traveled through Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Harris said.

Cabarrus County case

The Cabarrus County case was identified as presumptive positive by Cabarrus Health Alliance, the county’s public health authority. The person has symptoms of COVID-19 after international travel, according to the health alliance.

That case is still undergoing testing by the State Lab for Public Health, according to Cabarrus Health Alliance. The test to confirm the diagnosis could take up to 48 hours.

“We are now in a situation where we could potentially have community spread,” Mecklenburg’s Harris said Thursday.

“Community spread” of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, happens when people in an area are infected, but officials are not able to identify the source of the individual’s infection.

With the cases in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties, the state of North Carolina now has 15 cases of COVID-19 as of early evening Thursday.

State recommendations, changes

State officials are now encouraging that events with 100 or more attendees be canceled or postponed. That includes sporting events, conferences and concerts, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

The 100-person threshold is based on guidance from the CDC, Cooper said.

“We expect people to abide by this guidance,” Cooper said, adding if people don’t, officials can issue orders. “We believe the people of North Carolina are going to cooperate.”

Officials also urged employers to allow staff to work remotely or stagger shifts as possible, and said sick employees should stay home.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell emphasized that residents should limit their exposure to large groups of people.

“Don’t panic. Wash your hands,” Rodriguez-McDowell told the Observer. “People have to realize it’s serious. You need to try to curb being in large gatherings. If you don’t need to, it’s a good idea to keep yourself safe and stay at home.”

The county is not yet recommending school closures, Harris said Thursday.

“Please don’t go to work if you are ill. Please don’t send your kids to school if they are ill,” Harris said.

CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston said he wants families to continue to take precautionary steps. “If a child or an adult is sick, we strongly encourage that they stay home,” he said.

Other cases

The Charlotte-area cases were detected less than two weeks after the first North Carolina case was announced.

That first case involved a Wake County man who likely was exposed at a long-term care facility in Kirkland, Wash., the site of an outbreak, The (Raleigh) News & Observer has reported.

A second person was likely exposed while traveling in an outbreak area in Italy.

On Monday, state officials announced five people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the same Biogen biotech corporate conference in Boston last month, The News & Observer reported, and began showing symptoms between Feb. 29 and March 3.

Those first seven patients were put in isolation while officials identify close contacts. Five more cases in N.C. were announced Thursday morning, ahead of Mecklenburg’s announcement.

Gov. Roy Cooper visited Charlotte Wednesday, the day after declaring a state of emergency in North Carolina as the state deals with the continued spread of the illness.

“All of our lives are going to change in some way” because of the virus, Cooper said in Charlotte.

He said North Carolina has not yet received all of the novel coronavirus testing supplies it needs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue testing in the way it wants as the state deals with the continued spread of the illness.

Also Thursday, but before Mecklenburg’s announcement, Cohen said in Raleigh, “I think things are moving exceptionally quickly, which is why we need to move exceptionally quickly as well.”

Preparations underway

Cohen said the state is preparing for the continued spread of the virus.

“We do not have the luxury of a ‘wait and see approach’ when it comes to this virus,” she said Thursday. “Our goal is to slow the spread of this virus so fewer people will get sick, and so those (who are sick) will be able to access the excellent care that our hospitals and clinicians provide.”

COVID-19, or Coronavirus Disease 2019, is an illness caused by a new type of coronavirus that appeared late last year. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to pneumonia.

Symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 are fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The symptoms can appear two to 14 days after exposure.

Taking precautions

Harris, Mecklenburg’s public health director, said officials still don’t know how long the virus can live on surfaces and encouraged washing frequently touched surfaces often.

People should continue taking precautions against illness by washing their hands, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home when sick, Harris said.

The county is not testing people without symptoms, she said, unless they have high risk exposures to the virus.

State Health Director Elizabeth Tilson said Wednesday the state lab has the capacity to test 250 people for the new coronavirus strain. But private labs are now able to test others, she said.

Both cases reported in Mecklenburg County facilities were tested by the state laboratory, the county said in a statement.

North Carolina-based private health care diagonostics company LabCorp has been testing for COVID-19 since March 6, said LabCorp spokesman Warren Rizzi from communications firm Sard Verbinnen & Co.

LabCorp is able to perform several thousand tests per day, he said.

“The more people that we can get tested, the more we will know. That has been a priority for us,” Cooper said this week. “The scramble now is to get people tested… We have to know what we are dealing with.”

Observer reporter Alison Kuznitz and The (Raleigh) News & Observer contributed.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 11:11 AM.

Hannah Smoot

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5349

Hannah Smoot covers business in Charlotte, focusing on health care and transportation. She has been covering COVID-19 in North Carolina since March 2020. She previously covered money and power at The Rock Hill Herald in South Carolina and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.