NC Coronavirus: 398 Cases, Community Spread In Mecklenburg

NORTH CAROLINA — The number of cases of novel coronavirus, also know as COVID-19, in North Carolina jumped by more than 100 overnight, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The news comes hours after Mecklenburg County health officials confirm that as many as a third of the county’s 106 cases come from community spread. Community spread means the person came in contact with COVID-19 through unknown means and not through travel or by direct contact with someone who has tested positive.

“Every zip code in our county now has a positive case,” Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio said in the town hall Monday. “And what that tells us is we do have community spread.” Since health officials are unable to determine the source of the spread, residents must treat every interaction as a potential source of COVID-19 exposure, she said, the Charlotte Observer reported.

As of Tuesday morning, there are at least 398 positive coronavirus cases and no deaths in North Carolina. The number of confirmed and presumed positive cases of COVID-19 rose from 297 positive cases reported Monday morning.

The NC DHHS released the numbers of tests taken across the state, which totaled more than 8,502, and said Monday than more than 10,000 tests remained pending.

Mecklenburg County has the most cases in the state with 106, followed by Durham with 71, Wake County with 66, and Union with 13.

“People are continuing to act as though we do not have this infection in our community,” Mecklenburg County Heath Director Gibbie Harris said Monday. “People need to assume that anyone in this community can be positive.”

One in eight of the COVID-19 cases in Mecklenburg County have led to hospitalization, Harris said.

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The threat posed by COVID-19 on state medical resources has prompted a call for health care volunteers.

"We are facing an unprecedented crisis from COVID-19 that has already had devastating consequences internationally," NC DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said in an open letter to residents. "With the virus now spreading in North Carolina, we need to bolster our health care system to ensure we can care for those impacted by the virus. A crucial part of that effort is recruiting volunteers to supplement our health care workforce. We are asking for your help to meet these needs."

The state is seeking volunteers in the following areas:

• Clinical, such as physicians, advanced care providers, nurses and EMS.
• Clinical support, such as pharmacy, imaging and respiratory care.
• Non-clinical support, such as facility management, safety and administrative.
• To provide medical supplies, such as personal protective equipment.

Anyone able to volunteer is asked to register through the NC Training, Exercise, and Response Management System (NC TERMS), which may be found here.

North Carolina public schools will be closed through May 15, Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday afternoon. The announcement represents an extension of the ongoing two-week closure for in-person instructions in public schools that began March 16.

Cooper also announced Monday he is signing an executive order that bans mass gatherings of 50 people or more as of Wednesday at 5 p.m. This new order, which ramps up a previous ban on groups of 100 or more, means temporary closure for businesses such as gyms, movie theaters, sweepstakes parlors and health clubs will temporarily close.

Globally, more than 392,000 people have been infected and more than 17,000 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Tuesday. Of that total, more than 46,400 confirmed cases are in the United States. More than 593 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak, as of Tuesday.

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