Uptown’s COVID rate drops but remains high. View Mecklenburg map of cases by ZIP code

Devna Bose
·3 min read

Mecklenburg County’s COVID-19 trends slightly decreased overall, including for case rates.

The countywide average is 623.8 new cases per 100,000 residents, based on positive coronavirus test results from Sept. 9 to Sept.c22. That’s a little less than the previous 14-day average case rate of 631.1 per 100,000 residents. Based on Mecklenburg’s tracking of COVID-19 cases, the county saw an average over the last week of 473 new positive tests daily.

In a little less than half of the county’s 29 ZIP codes, case rates went up over the past two weeks. The other 16 ZIP codes posted lower case rates, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of new data from the county health department.

In late August, Atrium Health infectious disease expert Dr. Katie Passaretti predicted the delta variant could begin to burn out in two to four weeks.

Less than two weeks later in early September, Mecklenburg County Public Health reported a decrease in daily COVID-19 cases and the testing positivity rate for the first time in weeks after a surge in July and August.

The county’s hospitalizations and positivity rate also continued its downward trend over the last week. County health officials reported 27 coronavirus-related deaths in the past week, bringing the local death toll to 1,153 on Friday morning.

Mecklenburg’s COVID-19 positivity rate fell to an average of 10.1% in the past week. It’s still farfrom 5%, a crucial threshold that public health officials take into account when easing the countywide indoor mask mandate.

Uptown case rates

For more than a month, the county’s highest concentration of COVID-19 cases has been in uptown, or ZIP code 28202.

The area is still reporting a high rate of 1,579.3 cases per 100,000 residents, but it also had the biggest drop in Mecklenburg from the past two weeks. Case rate over the previous two weeks was 1,934.8 per 100,000 residents. That’s also the equivalent of nearly two in every 100 residents.

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.

Other ZIP codes with big decreases compared to last week were 28204 (Cherry and Elizabeth) and 28208 (west Charlotte, including Enderly Park and neighborhoods along West Boulevard).

Some of the other higher case rates in the county are in ZIP codes 28213 (south of University City, including Hidden Valley and neighborhoods along Old Concord Road) and 28278 (Steele Creek).

The lowest concentration of recent COVID-19 cases continues to be in ZIP code 28036, which is Davidson, as well as in 28277 (Ballantyne), and 28207 (neighborhoods in Eastover along Providence and Randolph Roads).

ZIP codes 28273 (neighborhoods on the South Carolina border near Carowinds) and 28213 saw the biggest increases in case rates compared to last week.

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. 9 and Sept. 22.

Below 500 cases per 100,000 residents:

  • 28036: 212.5

  • 28277: 361.3

  • 28207: 417.6

  • 28210: 443.5

  • 28211: 487.6

Case rates between 500-650:

  • 28217: 501.8

  • 28226: 520.1

  • 28105: 573.0

  • 28204: 584.0

  • 28031: 593.7

  • 28212: 598.2

  • 28209: 612.8

  • 28270: 627.3

  • 28269: 633.9

  • 28203: 634.1

  • 28227: 644.0

Between 650-800:

  • 28205: 652.1

  • 28078: 659.4

  • 28262: 672.1

  • 28215: 754.9

  • 28134: 760.2

  • 28214: 793.5

Above 800:

  • 28206: 822.1

  • 28208: 822.8

  • 28273: 895.0

  • 28216: 902.3

  • 28278: 955.3

  • 28213: 962.2

  • 28202: 1,579.3

Hannah Smoot and Gavin Off contributed.