Health leaders in Mecklenburg County say more COVID-19 tests are on the way

CHARLOTTE — Health leaders in Mecklenburg County said Thursday afternoon during a joint news conference the county is expecting a shipment of at-home COVID-19 tests next week.

Cases in Mecklenburg County have increased threefold with a percent positive rate of around 15%.

Testing sites in the county and across the state have been seeing an increase in demand due to the increase in travel over the holidays.

[ALSO READ: Long lines continue after holiday weekend at COVID-19 testing sites]

The Mecklenburg County Health Department and its testing partners have increased staffing and capacity at testing sites as much as possible, officials said.

“A lot of our sites are kind of mess sites right now by virtue of the demand. But we are looking to look to see if there are opportunities to bring on additional testing providers. To provide additional sites,” Deputy Public Health Director Raynard Washington said.

StarMed Healthcare is expected to set up a mobile unit in uptown Charlotte this week. StarMed is also opening another location off South Boulevard.

[RELATED COVERAGE: StarMed says more than 20 employees have tested positive for COVID-19]

The Health Department is also working on restocking its facilities and county libraries with rapid at-home test kits when they are available.

Public health officials continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated and boosted, wear masks indoors and avoid large indoor gatherings. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, stay home.

They also encouraged everyone to use safety measures to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19 over the holiday weekend.

“This is a holiday weekend, where people have a tendency to come together. And as midnight hits they have a tendency to hug and kiss and do all of those sorts of things to bring in the New Year. Well, this is not the year to do that. This is a year to have a bit more caution, so that in future years we’re all still around to celebrate with each other,” Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said.

The number of people hospitalized is also going up putting a strain on hospital systems.

[ALSO READ: New COVID-19 cases, ER visits hit record highs in North Carolina, officials say]

By the end of next week, Charlotte-Mecklenburg students will be returning to the classroom.

“We’ve had lots of questions about schools. Our schools will reopen again next week. There are no plans at this point to delay the start of school. They’ll be getting more information out over the weekend and we are doing what we can to support them as well,” Harris said.

The health board director said they are working with the school system to come up with more specific guidance to reflect new quarantine changes from the CDC.

That could come as early as this weekend.

(WATCH BELOW: ‘Constant stream’: Long lines continue after holiday weekend at COVID-19 testing sites)

‘Constant stream’: Long lines continue after holiday weekend at COVID-19 testing sites

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