CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The omicron subvariant BA.5 is causing a spike in cases across North Carolina, with half of the state's 100 counties now under a high risk for community transmission.
Overall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says North Carolina has a 20% case positivity rate, with 50 of the state's 100 counties in the CDC's highest level of community spread. Those 50 counties include several in the Charlotte area.
Charlotte-area counties under a high risk for COVID-19 transmission include: Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Rowan and Stanly. Several others remain under the medium risk, including Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union counties.
The CDC recommends masking indoors for counties under a high risk for COVID-19 activity.
It’s how the CDC indicates the level of risk in your specific area, and in the high level, the CDC recommends masking indoors. For counties under a medium risk, health officials encourage people to ask their health care provider about masking if they're more likely to experience severe illness and to stay up to date with vaccinations.
“However you slice it, there’s a lot of COVID-19 out there," Dr. David Priest with Novant Health, said.
It’s all fueled by the BA.5 subvariant of omicron, the most contagious strain yet.
Just four weeks ago, only four North Carolina counties were in the high zone. The next week, the bumper jumped to 18. Last week it was 41, and now the latest data shows 50 counties are at the highest level.
Mecklenburg County has not moved out of the medium level yet.
“Before we get there if we can continue to get folks engaged and get them to know that COVID is spreading and it's here and while we hoped we’d have a quieter period in the summer, we’re not," Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington said.
“We’ve seen a slow increase over the last few weeks so we are not surprised about this but we are concerned," Alyssa Harris, Rowan County's health director, said.
Harris said hospitalizations are going up but luckily, cases are not as severe and the health care systems are not overwhelmed.
She’s seeing a lot of people get reinfected because of the BA.5 subvariant, which has the ability to evade immunity from vaccines or past infections.
“We should be encouraging everyone who is in an indoor, crowded space to go back to masking, to consider social distancing, of course washing your hands staying home if you’re sick," Harris said. "Those really basic things that we can do can really reduce the spread of illness during this time.”
In continuing efforts to protect the community amid the pandemic, an Uptown Charlotte church is offering on-site vaccinations.
The doors of Little Rock A.M.E Zion Church opened Saturday not for service, but for COVID vaccinations and testing.
Christopher Bandy was first in line to get his second booster shot.
“I couldn’t wait for the vaccine because I had COVID when it first started and I was in the hospital,” said Bandy. “Some people didn’t leave the hospital. I was fortunate."
He has gotten all of his COVID vaccines at the church.
“Comfort level-wise, it makes it easier for the community,” said Bandy.
Pastor Dwayne Walker said this event is another way to keep his congregation safe.
“The pandemic is very much alive, and the various variants are resurfacing. We do know that the BA.5 variant is very contagious,” said Walker. “And while the numbers are not as high as they once were and hospitalization are down -- they are increasing.”
Those are valid concerns as half the counties in the state are listed in the CDC’s highest risk level of community spread. Walker said he is keeping his eyes on the number of cases in the region and not taking it easy when it comes to safety precautions
“We want people to be masked when they come into the building,” he said. “We still do temperature checks and all of that. Because some people are still leery of coming. We want them to know that when they come to little rock that this is a safe space.”
It's a community health effort Bandy is completely behind.
“It’s not going to stop until we all get vaccinated,” he said.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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