Using JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY data, Cornelius Today compiled a chart of North Carolina’s new confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day from May 5 through June 4. While it appears that North Carolina’s numbers of contraction are on the rise, it is important to note that anomalies may occur in North Carolina’s data reporting. The state’s average number of new daily cases since May 5 is 649 and its median is 543. Due to the obvious outliers on May 20, May 22 and May 29, which tend to skew the average, the median is a safer tool in describing the overall trend since May 5; however, the past seven-day average and median are significantly higher, at 897 and 909, respectively. This second set of numbers does not include the outliers mentioned earlier, but anomalies seem to occur as noted by a stark decrease on June 2 followed by a steep increase on June 3. The increasing seven-day aggregates might indicate an upward trend in confirmed cases.
June 5. By Dave Yochum. Mecklenburg County has had another triple-digit single-day increase in COVID-19 cases but the rate of increase is leveling off.
The county added 215 new cases from Thursday, for a total of 5,057 coronavirus cases, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday. The number is cumulative since mid-March. Cornelius Today reports NCDHHS and Johns Hopkins University data only. To view NCDHHS data directly, click here, for Johns Hopkins data, on which we base the chart, click here.
There was one new death in Mecklenburg County during the past 24 hours. Statewide there were six more, for a total of 966 deaths due to COVID-19. Nationally, there have 108,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins. It was only a week ago that the COVID-19 deaths broke through the 100,000 mark.
Testing soars, case numbers follow
Mecklenburg saw its first triple-digit single-day increase in cases in mid-May, coinciding with a dramatic increase in testing statewide.
As of this morning, state data shows a total of 482,147 tests, up from 231,547 on May 15.
Statewide cases of COVID-19 rose by 1,289 to 33,255 as of noon today. One week ago today the NCDHHS reported 26,488 cases, a 25 percent increase.
Exceeding the median this past week
The statewide upward trend, regardless of what’s causing it, is still troubling to health officials. The median daily count over the past 30 days was 543. During the past week, the median increase was 909. Today’s increase is more than 40 percent ahead of the median.
Hospitalizations and percentage of positive COVID-19 tests have increased. According to the NCDHHS, hospitalizations, which tend to fluctuate, rose to 717 from 659 as of Thursday and 684 on Wednesday. On Friday a week ago, 680 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19, which was down from 708 the day before.
Upward trends in COVOD-19 data indicates a wider spread throughout the community, according to Mecklenburg Health Director Gibbie Harris. But it’s to be expected with much wider testing—and fewer restrictions on businesses and public gatherings.
