As parts of economy reopen, COVID-19 cases top 2,000 in Mecklenburg, 2 more dead

As state officials reopened parts of the economy, the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Mecklenburg County continued to mount.

Mecklenburg has a total of 2,043 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to data released Saturday morning by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

That’s 37 more cases than Mecklenburg County reported Friday.

State data indicates there have been 61 deaths in Mecklenburg, but county officials counted 62 deaths as of Friday afternoon. There were 60 deaths counted early Friday.

The numbers come as authorities allowed shopping malls and state parks to reopen during the weekend. Gov. Roy Cooper had ordered non-essential businesses closed in March to try to limit the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus cases are not expected to peak in Mecklenburg until July, local officials have said.

But state figures show Mecklenburg — the first county in North Carolina to top 2,000 cases — has twice as many confirmed coronavirus cases as the next closest jurisdiction, Wake, which had 1,013 cases.