Despite citywide surge, Bronx is without COVID hot spots
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
While the recent surge in COVID
19 in New York City has been
record-setting — the state broke a record
for cases over a 24-hour period
on two separate occasions over the
weekend — the severity and scope of
the spread has not reached peak levels
of transmission when the city was the
epicenter of the virus in early 2020.
On Dec. 18, the Bronx had 1,365 confi
rmed COVID-19 cases — the highest
single-day case increase since Feb. 13,
a month before the fi rst expansion of
COVID-19 vaccine eligibility in New
York — and it has also seen its positivity
rate spike from 1.2%-5.6% over the
course of four weeks.
However, the northernmost borough
is devoid of COVID-19 hot spots
— ZIP codes that surpass the city’s
seven-day median spread of 50.8 cases
per 100,000 entering Monday — with
only the Port Morris 10454 ZIP code
having more than 50 cases per 100,000
within that seven-day span.
Around the city, some ZIP codes
like Tribeca and the Greenwich Village
section that have case totals of
206 and 199 cases per 100,000, respectively,
are dwarfi ng the Bronx in
terms of transmission rates.
In response to case totals in the
thousands and the prevalence of two
As virus case counts in NYC continue to skyrocket, lines for COVID-19 testing wrap around Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx last week.
Photo Adrian Childress
strains of the virus, delta and omircron,
NYC leaders have expanded
mask and vaccine mandates. NYC’s
vaccine mandate applies to non-public
school staff as of Monday, while the
sweeping private-sector expansion
comes Dec. 27.
Additionally, outgoing Democratic
Mayor Bill de Blasio has also discussed
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adding COVID booster doses
to the vaccine mandates amid the omicron
wave. Preliminary data shows
the omicron variant may be more
vaccine-resistant but is responsive to
boosters.
In response to the state’s recordsetting
positive case totals on Friday
and Saturday, de Blasio said that the
surge could be contained if all New
Yorkers get fully vaccinated — including
booster shots.
Vaccinations are minimizing the
worst-case scenario of the virus, according
to health experts. Roughly
77% of Bronxites have received a dose
of the COVID-19 vaccine and in sections
like Parkchester, Riverdale and
Morris Park, vaccination rates are
above 80%.
Despite the surge in cases, deaths
and hospitalizations in the Bronx are
nowhere near peak pandemic levels.
The Bronx is averaging 2.5 deaths in a
seven-day stretch, a far cry from death
totals of 140-plus in March 2020.
According to the NYC Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene
(DOHMH), cases among the unvaccinated
per 100,000 is 114.9, compared to
13.8 cases per 100,000 vaccinated New
Yorkers. Additionally, the borough
has reported that 80% of their adult
ICU beds are full, although just 27 of
361 beds are occupied by virus carriers.
Across the city, the current hospitalization
rate is 30% lower than a
year ago, and deaths are under the nationwide
seven-day total of 12 virusrelated
deaths per week, according to
the DOHMH.
Recently, New Yorkers frantically
looking to get tested during the busy
holiday rush, are fi nding pop-up,
brick-and-mortar COVID testing sites
in short demand after the city closed
20 testing centers before the latest
spread.
However, eight additional fi xed-location
testing centers — including one
at Walton Education School in Kingsbridge
Heights — were expected to be
up and running by Tuesday, Dec. 21,
pushing the number to “over 30,” with
93 mobile sites, according to Dr. Ted
Long, head of the city’s Test and Trace
operation.
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