Coronavirus

NY Cases Continue Uptick, NYC Adds 12th Zip Code to Cluster Problem

New York recorded the results of more than 134,000 virus tests Friday, the most ever performed in a single day

NBC Universal, Inc.

What to Know

  • NYC added yet a 12th ZIP code to its burgeoning cluster problem; those account for about 30% of citywide cases the last two weeks despite representing less than 9% of the population
  • The seven-day rolling average positivity rate for those ZIP codes is down to 5.72%, while that overall metric for the city is 1.42%; statewide, 21 ZIP codes are areas of concern
  • New Jersey is combatting some new increases of its own; President Trump, who visited the state this week, tested positive, along with the first lady, he announced Friday

BREAKING UPDATE: Non-Essential Businesses, Public and Private Schools, Indoor Dining to Close Wednesday in 9 ZIP Codes if Approved by State; Indoor Dining Suspended in 11 ZIP Codes on Watchlist but Schools Stay Open for Now

New York state’s daily count of new coronavirus cases is continuing on an upward trend.

The state reported on Saturday that there were more than 1,700 new confirmed cases on Friday, up slightly from the day before — case totals not seen in New York since May.

Some of the hotspots in the state included the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where more than 350 people tested positive, and in suburban Rockland County, which saw at least 120 new cases.

New York City health officials added yet another ZIP code to the burgeoning cluster situation in Brooklyn and Queens late Friday, bringing its current number of hotspot ZIP codes to 12 and identifying four separate clusters.

They now account for about 30 percent of all new cases citywide over the last two weeks despite representing less than 9 percent of the city's population. The seven-day rolling average positivity rate for those ZIP codes is down slightly from 5.86 percent to 5.72 percent, while that overall metric for the city is 1.42 percent.

"We'll know a lot more over the next few days. We're hovering around a level right now that's 50 percent of the way to the standard that would cause us greater concern citywide," the mayor told WNYC's Brian Lehrer on Friday, referring to the 3 percent citywide threshold that would immediately shutter New York City public schools.

New York recorded the results of more than 134,000 virus tests Friday, the most ever performed in a single day.

“This pandemic is not over,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. He added: “My message to New Yorkers is please stay vigilant.”

The hardest hit regions of the state, on a per capita basis, were the Southern Tier area along the Pennsylvania border and the Mid-Hudson Valley.

Both of those areas were seeing the virus spread at a rate that, if they were independent states, they would be subject to New York’s rules requiring out-of-state travelers to quarantine.

The quarantine cutoff, currently for states like Illinois, Colorado and Florida, is based on a seven-day rolling average of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents.

The Southern Tier’s average Friday was at 17 per 100,000.

An often-cited measure of the virus’ spread — the percentage of tests that come back positive — remained low, about 1.3%.

Daily Percentage of Positive Tests by New York Region

Gov. Andrew Cuomo breaks the state into 10 regions for testing purposes and tracks positivity rates to identify potential hotspots. Here's the latest tracking data by region and for the five boroughs. For the latest county-level results statewide, click here

Source: ny.gov

Copyright NBC New York/Associated Press
Contact Us