Health director: Early voting is safe around Charlotte, despite COVID-19 spread

Charlotte area residents should feel safe casting their ballots at early voting locations next week despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said Friday.

The sites are designed to accommodate social distancing, Harris told reporters during a news conference. And health officials are planning to distribute a “significant amount” of personal protective equipment, intended for poll workers and voters who arrive without face coverings.

“Everyone is being encouraged to wear a mask and to socially distance,” Harris said. “At this point in time, we’re comfortable with the work that the (Mecklenburg County) Board of Elections is doing around these sites.”

People can also expect hand sanitizer and Q-tips to safely use voting equipment. Surfaces should be cleaned frequently, and there will be barriers between poll workers and voters at check-in tables, among other safeguards outlined by the State Board of Elections.

The county’s COVID-19 ambassadors — who have visited hundreds of bars, restaurants and other businesses recently to ensure compliance with safety protocols — aren’t scheduled yet to inspect early voting sites. But Harris sounded open to the idea when asked by The Charlotte Observer.

“We can make that happen,” Harris said.

There are 33 early voting sites around Charlotte, including Bank of America Stadium, Spectrum Center and Bojangles Coliseum. Early voting spans Oct. 15 through Oct. 31, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

More than 1.2 million North Carolinians have requested absentee ballots, with 36% returned so far, according to the Old North State Politics blog.

Local COVID-19 trends

The health director’s confidence for in-person voting comes as Mecklenburg continues to post stable COVID-19 metrics, including the number of people seeking hospital-level care and the percentage of county residents testing positive for the virus.

Yet across North Carolina, Harris warned, cases are once again increasing.

“We have to be vigilant,” she said. “That means all of us working together, doing the things we know we need to do to prevent the spread of this infection.”

Harris said the new daily caseload has increased a “little bit” locally over the last two weeks.

In a stark milestone on Friday, the county surpassed 30,000 cumulative cases since March, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. That’s a rate of 275 cases for every 10,000 residents. The coronavirus death toll is 366, Harris said.

As of Oct. 7 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:

▪ During the past week, an average of 86 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized. Health officials say this represents a fairly stable trend over the past two weeks.

▪An average of 4.9% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19 during the past week. Mecklenburg County Public Health says this represents a fairly stable trend over the last 14 days.

▪ Most people — about 60% of more than 29,700 cases — were adults under the age of 40. People older than 60 account for roughly 12% of all cases reported but the majority of all deaths.

▪ After symptoms of coronavirus subside, a person diagnosed may be “released” from isolation under CDC guidelines. In Mecklenburg, roughly 80% of the people who tested positive have met the criteria to end isolation, according to local health officials.

▪ About 1 in 20 people diagnosed were hospitalized due to their illness. People age 60 or older were more likely to need hospital care compared to younger people with coronavirus.

▪ More than half of those people who have died from COVID-19 locally were connected to “active outbreaks” in long-term care facilities or nursing homes. Still, five of the 365 deaths recorded as of Oct. 7 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Forty-seven of the people who died were between the ages of 40 to 59, and four people were under the age of 40.

This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 1:44 PM.