SAM AT FRESH MARKET. A FAMILY MEMBER HAS AN UNDERLYING CONDITION
March 30. By Dave Yochum. There are more than 400 reported cases of COVID-19 among Mecklenburg County residents, but none so far in Davidson. No one knows exactly why, but the town is not known for its vibrant nightlife.
NC-WIDE CAPACITY FOR MORE PATIENTS
It turns out that about three out of four reported cases of COVID-19 are adults ages 20 to 59 years old. Two cases were youth under 20 years old, according to the Mecklenburg County Public Health. Younger adults make up the majority of cases for all racial/ethnic groups except non-Hispanic Blacks, for whom 41 percent of cases were adults over 60 years.
About 20 percent of reported cases overall were hospitalized due to their COVID-19 infection.
However, hospitalization rates among adults over 60 were significantly higher.
Statewide there are 1,500 cases, and eight deaths
There are hotspots in Mecklenburg as well as cold spots. As of yesterday, there were no reported COVID cases Davidson.
Physician Michael Miltich, a Cornelius Town Commissioner, said it’s hard to determine exactly why COVID-19 is sometimes a hit or miss phennomenon—with entire counties not reporting cases all across the country.
That may change.
MILTICH
“Any close contact is an infection waiting to happen. That’s why bars, gyms, dance studios etc. are closed down,” Miltich said.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Pat Cotham said initially the COVID cases were from Zip Codes where individuals had travelled abroad for business.
“Before the social distancing order, residents with the virus interacted with others in their circle and more cases developed quickly,” Cotham said.
Now there are more and more cases of people who have contracted the virus without knowing the source—another way of saying community spread.
COTHAM
Meanwhile, grocery stores in Cornelius continue to ramp up anti-COVID measures but as of 9 this morning none had one-way markers on the aisles themselves. Shoppers, more and more of them with masks compared to last week, come virtually face to face if they’re in the same aisle but coming from opposite directions.
Miltich said he is careful about packages in stores, lest it carry the virus which can survive for an unknown period of time on hard surfaces, longer than porous surfaces.
“Certainly I would only send one family member to store with good infection control upon return,” Miltich advised.
Healthcare professionals are talking about a peak late in April but no one really knows for sure.
Miltich, who is an ear nose and throat specialist, said he is only venturing out “if something is essential and limiting our exposure with good hand washing upon coming into the house.”
