CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For months, Mecklenburg County residents have been hearing the message that they’re "safer at home."
On Monday, just four days ahead of Christmas, Mecklenburg County’s Public Health Director stressed that staying home now could be the most crucial time of this whole pandemic to do so.
“So, what is not safe over the holidays? Travel, gatherings and extensive shopping,” said Gibbie Harris, Public Health Director for Mecklenburg County, citing a surge in both positive cases and hospitalizations.
To keep this holiday merry and bright, Harris is encouraging everyone to stay home and to only celebrate with those you live with.
She said over the last week, county hospitals saw more than 300 COVID-related hospitalizations per day and reported increased use of ICU beds and ventilators, a surge likely linked to Thanksgiving travel and gatherings.
In addition to seeing a surge in cases, Harris said the county is also seeing a surge in testing, which she said could be a scary indicator of people’s plans to gather or travel.
“That is incredibly concerning to me because I think that could indicate risky behavior over the next several weeks,” she said, saying right now the average time to receive test results is around 3.5 days.
Charlotte Douglas for example is reporting between 14,000 and 15,000 local passengers to travel every day between Dec 19 to 27.
In addition to traveling, Harris said other risky behaviors include going to bars, restaurants and crowded malls.
“Restaurants, bars, gatherings…all you have to do is go to social media and see what’s happening out there,” she said. “Please avoid those at all costs. The safest thing to do is to stay home with those you live with and limit your shopping to necessities.”
She’s also recommending everyone consider attending holiday church services, virtually, saying the more contagious strain of COVID currently circulating in the UK, has been around since Sept. and is likely already spreading throughout the US.
“The longer this virus spreads the more opportunities it has to change and adapt and it can become stronger,” she said, adding that initial data suggests the vaccines will be effective with the new strain.
Ultimately, Harris fears Christmas gatherings could bring dark days in the new year. “We’re going to see those spikes again in January and so the problem is those spikes might very well come on top of numbers which are already very elevated,” she said.
Monday, Harris also said the state is rolling out a new testing notification system, where it will notify people via email or text if they’ve tested positive. She said the new system could be up and running by the end of this week.