Milestone: Zero Covid deaths in Mecklenburg last week
Milestone: Zero Covid deaths in Mecklenburg last week
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Weekly health department data shows no Covid deaths twice in June, first time in 14 months; Officials stress vaccinations
by Tony Mecia
Good news: Nobody in Mecklenburg County died in connection with Covid during the last week of June, according to data released by the health department on Friday.
It’s the second time in the last month that the county’s weekly data report showed no Covid deaths. The first time was the week ending June 9. The county didn’t announce the milestone, which hasn’t been previously reported. The Ledger discovered that information while examining the numbers on Friday.
It’s the first time that there have been no Covid deaths reported by the health department since the first fatality attributed to the virus in late March 2020.
Asked by The Ledger to confirm that there were no Covid deaths reported in the previous week and to provide a comment about that, a health department spokeswoman simply replied in an email: “That is accurate.”
Weekly health data shows the number of Covid deaths fell to zero twice in the last month. Figures show the number of weekly Covid deaths in Mecklenburg has mostly been in the single digits since March. (Source: Ledger analysis of Mecklenburg County Health Department data)
Friday’s news release containing the most recent data didn’t mention that there were no Covid deaths in the previous week, and neither did the county’s social media account, which focused on other numbers:
The health department might be making no big deal of Covid deaths dropping to zero for the first time in 14 months because it doesn’t want to create a “mission accomplished” moment and undercut some of its public health messaging. Public health experts continue to warn that the battle against Covid is not over.
Health officials are continuing to urge more people to be vaccinated, and health guidelines say that unvaccinated people should still wear masks and practice social distancing, including children.
As recently as last week, health director Gibbie Harris was warning about the possibility of the virus spreading during Fourth of July gatherings, especially with the recent arrival of the “Delta variant,” which is thought to be more contagious. She has consistently warned about the possible dangers of holiday gatherings since the start of the pandemic, even as all Covid numbers have been declining from their January peaks: “We didn’t have any major bumps or issues after Memorial Day, which is great, but we know with other holiday weekends we have seen increases, so we’ll just have to watch and see,” Harris said last week, according to WCNC.
The Charlotte Observer quoted her last week advising Mecklenburg residents to carry a mask at all times. The paper said that “cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus continue to rise nationally.”
State health data show that 49% of Mecklenburg residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, a figure that is slightly higher than the statewide percentage.
Friday’s numbers also showed that there were 39 Covid patients in local hospitals as of last Wednesday and an average of 44 confirmed cases per day in the previous week.
In all, 981 Mecklenburg residents have died in connection with Covid, the health department says.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: Lindsey Banks