NC reports more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases ahead of holiday weekend

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,045 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the second time in a week that the state reported more than 2,000 cases in a single day.

The increase in cases comes as we head into a holiday weekend and health leaders are urging North Carolinians to wear face coverings and keep social distance even among extended family members and close friends.

The state also reported 36 more COVID-19 deaths for a total of 2,839 since March.

Currently, 955 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state, with just 82% of hospitals reporting. NCDHHS said in a statement on its dashboard that a potential error in submitted data has led to recent delays in posting hospitalization data.

Completed tests jumped significantly Thursday with 36,259 tests reported -- the highest value in the past month.

Additionally, the state reported 23,655 completed tests Friday, a number which is likely to increase as testing data continues to come in from participating laboratories.

As of Wednesday, 6.4% of tests are positive.

>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

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Note: The numbers we show you every day mean everything in how our community recovers from coronavirus -- both in terms of healthcare and the economy -- but they don’t mean much without the proper context and as much transparency as possible.

New cases vary day by day based on a lot of factors. That can include how long it takes to get results back, so a new case reported today can really be several days old.

The other big metric we watch is the percent of positive cases. This is data we can only get from the state because it’s not as simple as factoring a percent of new cases each day from the number of tests. That’s because test results take days and come from a variety of places.

WHAT ABOUT CLOSER TO HOME?

As of Friday morning, there were 26,064 cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with 310 deaths due to COVID-19 reported among Mecklenburg County residents. Highlights about the 25,908 COVID-19 cases reported in Mecklenburg County as of Sept. 2, 2020 include:

• About 3 in 4 reported cases were adults ages 20 to 59 years old.
• About 1 in 4 reported cases are Hispanic – most of whom are younger adults. As previously noted, some factors influencing this trend include:
• Targeted testing occurring in neighborhoods with lower access to care, some of which have larger Hispanic populations;
• Higher proportions of Hispanics working in essential jobs that make social distancing difficult;
• Significant household spread among large families; and
• Pre-existing disparities in other social and economic determinants of health, like poverty.
• About 1 in 20 reported cases were hospitalized due to their COVID-19 infection. While everyone is at risk for severe COVID-19 complications, reported cases who were older adults (≥ 60 years) were more likely to be hospitalized compared to younger individuals.
• Nearly 8 out of 10 have met CDC criteria to be released from isolation.
• During the past week, an average of 112 laboratory-confirmed infections were reported compared to the 14-day average of 120 confirmed infections. These data are based on Mecklenburg resident cases reported to MCPH.
• During the past week, an average of 139 individuals with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized at acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County. Overall this represents a stable trend over the last 14 days. These data are based on daily census counts from acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County reporting to MCPH.
• During the past week, an average of 6.7 percent of individuals who were tested in Mecklenburg County were positive for COVID-19. This represents a fairly stable trend over the last 14 days. These data only include tests conducted in Mecklenburg County by Atrium Health, Novant Health, CVS Health, Walgreens Pharmacy and Tryon Medical Partners as available. Reporting of negative results to MCPH is not required or covered by communicable disease reporting laws. MCPH will include results from other providers and laboratories as accurate, consistent and timely reporting mechanisms are established.
• Three hundred-six deaths due to COVID-19 occurred among reported cases.
• Almost all deaths were among older adults (≥ 60 years), 4 deaths occurred in adults ages 20 to 39 and 42 deaths were adults ages 40 to 59.
• All deaths, except four, occurred among adults with underlying chronic illnesses.
• More than half were non-Hispanic Whites. The disparity in COVID-19 deaths among non-Hispanic Whites is related to differences in race/ethnicity of residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities actively experiencing an outbreak.
• More than half of deaths were connected to active outbreaks at long-term care (LTC) facilities.
• Among deaths not connected to outbreaks at long-term care facilities, nearly 3 in 4 were non-White, with 40 percent being non-Hispanic Black. As previously noted, these disparities are largely driven by higher rates of underlying chronic conditions that increase risk of severe complications due to COVID-19 infection among these communities.

Based on publicly available mobility tracking data, social distancing presents a fairly stable trend over the last 14 days.

Cox Media Group