
COVID-19 IN MECKLENBURG: 1231 CASES, 31 RELATED DEATHS
April 21. UPDATED 12:05 pm. Although different forecasting models suggest different peaks, COVID-19 cases are still increasing, but at a slower rate. The growth in cases here is less than 5 percent per day.
Cornelius has between 20 and 40 cases. Davidson, meanwhile, has 5 to 20 cases, according to the Mecklenburg County web site. Still unknown is how many are at Autumn Care, the senior care facility on Zion just east of Hwy. 115.
Coronavirus-related deaths are at 31, with a total of 1,231 lab-confirmed cases, according to data on the Mecklenburg County Health Dept. website. Mecklenburg has more than twice that of any other North Carolina county—Wake County had 599, according to NCDHSS.
Daily updates
State and local totals can differ, based on when data was collected and where tests were given. State and county numbers are expected to be updated today.
UPDATE AS OF 12:05 PM: Statewide, there are 6,951 cases, up from 6,764 cases yesterday. As of noon Tuesday, there were 213 deaths, up from a total of 179 deaths yesterday. Check the NC Dept. of Health & Human Services COVID-19 dashboard here.
The statewide death total was up 19 percent over yesterday’s total. The total number of cases rose 2.76 percent from yesterday.
North Carolina has been spared much of the ravages of COVID-19 seen in New York and New Jersey. The NCDHHS reports that only 655 ventilators are in use statewide—for any disease—out of 2,863 available statewide.
Testing remains low
Testing for coronavirus remains problematic. Johns Hopkins reports only 79,500 tests have been completed in North Carolina. Check the Johns Hopkins COVID dashboard here.
On April 15, Gov. Roy Cooper outlined plans to gradually reopen the state once progress is made in testing and tracing capacity as well as increased data to track trends.
NC DHHS officials said we need to at least double our testing capacity.
“That’s because once we reopen, the odds of future localized outbreaks in North Carolina are 100 percent,” said NC Sen. Jeff Jackson.
“When they happen, we’re either going to have to reclose OR have access to widespread testing that allows us to quickly identify and contain the outbreak,” he said.

JACKSON
In South Carolina, Gov. McMaster has already started to loosen restrictions on state beaches and retailers.
For most people, COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms, but for older adults and people with underlying health conditions, it can be fatal.