New COVID-19 deaths in Mecklenburg County shatter previous mark, health officials say
Mecklenburg County on Friday reported 16 more people died of COVID-19, the most in a single day during the pandemic.
The deaths shattered the previous mark of 13, set Jan. 5.
A Charlotte Observer analysis of county health data shows an average of seven people per day have died over the last week from COVID-19 in Mecklenburg. That’s the highest number of fatalities seen throughout the pandemic.
A total of 622 people have died from coronavirus complications, according to the health department.
The record number of deaths correlates with a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Mecklenburg over the last two months.
Intensive care units at Charlotte-area hospitals are nearing capacity, with a surge in COVID-19 patients, The Charlotte Observer reported on Friday. That coincides with a staggering increase in new infections.
About 90% of intensive care unit beds in Mecklenburg County hospitals were occupied at the end of December, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of public federal health data. About half were COVID-19 patients, according to the data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mecklenburg County is averaging more than 800 COVID-19 cases a day. That’s nearly 45% higher than a month ago, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of public health data on Friday.
The average COVID-19 positivity rate in Mecklenburg County soared to 15.6% in the week after Christmas, the Observer reported, citing data released Tuesday by health officials.
The positivity rate measures the percentage of COVID-19 tests that return positive results. The rate has more than doubled since late November and more than tripled since mid-October, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of public health data.
When Mecklenburg experienced its first coronavirus peak in late July, the county’s positivity rate averaged about 11% per week.
“In the middle of a pandemic and the rates of COVID we have in communities right now, it will happen to you,” Dr. David Priest, Novant Health infectious disease expert, told reporters on Friday of potential infections. “Even people that take a lot of precautions, that happens to them sometimes ... Assume that where you’re going, COVID is as well.”