COVID case rate dips in some Charlotte ZIP codes, county average up slightly

Devna Bose
·2 min read
Dashboard 1

After a one-week decrease earlier this month to the average rate of new COVID-19 infections in Mecklenburg, the county’s case rate is up again.

The countywide average is 631.1 new cases per 100,000 residents, based on positive coronavirus test results from September 2 to September 15. That’s slightly up from the previous 14-day average case rate of 618.1. Based on Mecklenburg’s tracking of COVID-19 cases, the county saw an average over the last week of 517 new positive tests daily.

By ZIP code, there was slight improvement in the number of new cases in about half of the ZIP codes and in the other half, the case rate went up, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of new data from the county health department.

Countywide, the number of people hospitalized decreased slightly over the last week and the positivity rate in Mecklenburg improved slightly, the Observer reported Friday.

For a month straight, the county’s highest concentration of COVID-19 cases by far has been in uptown, or ZIP code 28202. The area is reporting a case rate of 1,934.8, or nearly two in every 100 residents for the past two weeks. And it went up from last week’s case rate of 1,719.9.

The ZIP code analysis uses only the most recent, or active, infections detected by coronavirus testing. Mecklenburg Public Health typically releases ZIP code-level data weekly and the rate is based on a 14-day average.

In every ZIP code other than 28202, the latest case rates translate to less than 1% of residents recently diagnosed with COVID-19.

The lowest concentration of recent COVID-19 cases continues to be in ZIP code 28036, which is Davidson, followed by 28207 (neighborhoods in Eastover along Providence and Randolph Roads), 28277 (Ballantyne), 28211 (south Charlotte along Providence Road, including Cotswold and parts of Myers Park) and 28210 (neighborhoods along Park Road).

ZIP codes 28203 (South End and parts of Dilworth) and 28036 saw the biggest drops in case rates compared to last week. The biggest increases week to week: Uptown and neighborhoods on the South Carolina border near Carowinds (ZIP code 28273).

COVID-19 case rates by ZIP code

This data comes from Mecklenburg County Public Health and includes positive COVID-19 test results, based on a person’s home ZIP code, between Sept. 2 and Sept. 15.

Below 500 cases per 100,000 residents:

  • 28036: 258.4

  • 28207: 375.8

  • 28277: 382.5

  • 28211: 477.9

  • 28210: 482.3

Case rates between 500-650:

  • 28105: 502.4

  • 28270: 516.8

  • 28217: 533.0

  • 28226: 535.7

  • 28212: 558.0

  • 28203: 559.9

  • 28262: 597.2

  • 28269: 601.3

  • 28031: 612.2

  • 28209: 630.7

Between 650-800:

  • 28078: 679.7

  • 28227: 685.1

  • 28205: 686.3

  • 28134: 687.8

  • 28215: 701.3

  • 28273: 748.9

Above 800:

  • 28214: 821.0

  • 28204: 827.4

  • 28213: 836.1

  • 28206: 855.0

  • 28216: 878.8

  • 28208: 915.7

  • 28278: 967.3

  • 28202: 1,934.8

Gavin Off contributed.