Wastewater testing indicates COVID-19 cases on the rise

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — It’s a question that could possibly be asked at workplaces in and around Queen City.

“People don’t typically get sick in the Summer,” said Mecklenburg County Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington. “We’re used to having respiratory viruses in the Wintertime, so when someone has a really bad cough and cold in the Sumer, it’s like, ‘Oh, what do you have?'”

COVID-19 case numbers are no longer tracked, but local health officials have a pretty good idea that COVID-19 is going around again.

“Our best signal for what’s happening with COVID is actually our wastewater surveillance system,” Dr. Washington said. “We have been seeing pretty significant increases in wastewater activity for the last 4-5 weeks.”

The post-Fourth of July holiday surge has been happening the last few years, but this year there seems to be a little more activity on the COVID front. The good news is that Dr. Raynard Washington hasn’t seen any negative impact on local healthcare systems as isolation guidelines have eased nationwide.

“We’re managing COVID similar to how we’re managing other respiratory illnesses now that we know so much more about it,” Dr. Washington said.

Essentially, stay home until you feel better.

Some patients looking for the next booster will notice a change. The Bridge Access program is no longer covering the cost of the vaccine, meaning those who are uninsured will likely have to pay for it out of pocket.

“We will be working at the county level to try to be a safety net for as many of those uninsured adults as we can,” said Dr. Washington.

For those interested in getting the latest booster shot, Dr. Washington says they’re expecting those to be available toward the end of August.

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