‘Up to all of us’ to slow COVID spread around Charlotte, Meck health director urges
Some of Mecklenburg County’s closely watched coronavirus metrics are on the rise or plateauing.
Yet Public Health Director Gibbie Harris is cautiously optimistic the Charlotte area can evade another surge of infections, as long as people adhere to health guidelines — wear a mask, practice social distancing, use good hand hygiene — and get immunized. All North Carolinians ages 16 and older are now eligible for vaccine shots.
“Our numbers are increasing, but they’re increasing at a very slow pace...” Harris said during a news conference Thursday. “We have the potential of keeping this rather flat. But it’s up to all of us to make that happen.”
Harris said officials were expecting to see an uptick in cases as a result of more business reopenings and relaxed capacity limits.
Coronavirus variants, some of which are likely more contagious than the initial strain, could also be spurring Mecklenburg’s caseload growth, Harris said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected 178 cases of the United Kingdom variant in North Carolina as of Thursday, as well 29 cases of the South African variant.
The latest COVID stats in Charlotte, Mecklenburg
Hospitalizations: Averaged 128 in the past week, according to the latest Mecklenburg COVID-19 data.
That’s a 13% increase over the last two weeks —though it’s a still lower volume compared to one month ago, when an average of 158 people were hospitalized.
Hospitalizations are considered a lagging indicator in the pandemic, reflecting the incubation period of the virus, plus the time it takes to develop serious complications. Harris said some intensive care units are seeing a higher volume of patients.
Dr. Katie Passaretti, director of infection prevention at Atrium Health, said patients are skewing younger, around the ages from 25 to 44. Hospital visits among people 65 and older have dropped dramatically, Passaretti told reporters Thursday.
In the long-term, health experts say that hospitalizations may no longer rise in lockstep with cases, because the vaccines are extremely effective at preventing severe illness, the Observer has reported.
Cases: Mecklenburg is adding about 270 new coronavirus cases daily, measured across a seven-day moving average. Last week, that figure was around 200, based on state data.
It is still too early to see the scope of infections that could be traced back to Easter celebrations.
Testing: Around 2,600 a day on average over the past week, compared to more than 5,000 in January.
Case tallies represent just a small fraction of all infections in Charlotte, officials warn. Testing demand remains stable, which could make it difficult to pick up asymptomatic cases that people may unknowingly spread to friends, loved ones and community members.
Positivity rate: Stable at around 6.8% over the past week.
The rate had dropped as low 4.5% last month. Health officials partially rely on a 5% threshold to guide reopening decisions, with a lower number signaling viral spread is under better control.
Vaccines: Just over 27% of Mecklenburg residents are at least partially vaccinated and 17.9% are fully vaccinated, according to N.C. DHHS.
State data show that 31.5% of North Carolinians are at least partially vaccinated and 22.2% are fully vaccinated, as of late Thursday.
Vaccine appointments should be easier to find as supply increases, the Observer reported this week. Local healthcare providers are planning multiple mass vaccine clinics in the coming weeks, including an event at Camp North End.
Vaccine info in Mecklenburg County: Schedule online at starmed.care or call Public Health at 980-314-9400 (option 3 for English and option 8 for Spanish. Visit Mecknc.gov/covid-19 to join the county’s waitlist or to apply for home-based vaccination. For other providers, find your spot via the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ MySpot.NC.gov.
