Mecklenburg mask mandate remains, as local COVID trends and omicron worries grow

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Mecklenburg residents aren’t likely to get a break from the county’s mask mandate anytime soon, amid rising COVID-19 trends in Mecklenburg and worries about the new omicron variant.

Mecklenburg County changed its criteria for keeping the COVID-19 mask mandate in place in November, allowing masking in public places to stop if the daily COVID-19 positivity rate remained below 5% for seven days.

At the time, it seemed dropping the mask mandate was near, with Mecklenburg’s positivity rate for COVID-19 testing falling below 5% four days in a row the week of the change.

But since the change on Nov. 3, the county’s positivity rate has fallen below that threshold on just four days as of Nov. 30.

And the county’s most recent seven-day average positivity rate hit 8.3% as of Nov. 30, an Observer analysis of county data shows.

Still, the endurance of the county’s mask mandate may be good for the community. It’s too early to drop the masking requirement, N.C. doctors from Charlotte’s major hospital systems Atrium Health and Novant Health told reporters recently.

Several cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant have now been found in the U.S., with cases reported in New York, Hawaii, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota and New York, the New York Times reported last week.

The new variant is one reason it’s important to continue wearing a mask in public spaces, Novant infectious disease expert Dr. David Priest told reporters Thursday. There’s still so much not known about the new omicron variant, he said.

Local governments and school systems should “stick with masking until more information until more information” is reported, Priest said.

‘Masks work’

Experts don’t yet know if omicron is more or less contagious than the highly contagious delta variant, which makes up the majority of COVID-19 cases in the country currently.

Priest said North Carolinians who are unvaccinated should get the COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible — and fully vaccinated residents should get the now available COVID-19 booster doses.

He’s not surprised additional COVID-19 variants have emerged — and more mutations will continue to appear the longer people stall on getting vaccinated, he said.

A more vaccinated community will lead to lower spread of the virus, and lower opportunities for mutation, he said.

And Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist infectious disease expert Dr. Christopher Ohl said early testing is important for North Carolinians with COVID-19 symptoms. That’s especially needed since the state is in the middle of flu and respiratory virus season, he added.

“Because isolation and treatment for COVID is different than isolation and treatment for the flu,” Ohl said.

This year may be a tough respiratory viral season, Ohl said. He recommends masking and social distancing.

“Masks work,” he said. “Masks reduce transmission. Masks will help us get through the winter respiratory virus season.”

County expands at-home COVID testing

Mecklenburg County is expanding its at-home COVID-19 testing program, the county announced Friday.

Starting Monday, the free at-home COVID-19 tests will be available at eight sites around the county, the southeast public health department and seven county libraries. The full list is available online.

Local COVID trends

Here’s what else local data for COVID-19 spread shows:

▪ The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Mecklenburg County is on the rise over the last two weeks, according to the latest data report.

From Nov. 24 to Nov. 30, there was an average of roughly 155 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 each day. That’s the county’s highest seven-day average for hospitalizations since the last week of October.

▪ As of Friday, 1,288 Mecklenburg County residents have died due to COVID-19, according to the county.

That’s 28 additional deaths since the county’s last data release on Nov. 5.

In November, the county switched to a monthly data report instead of weekly.