Recently released data from the New York City Department of Health indicates a grim statistic: The 10470 zip code in The Bronx, covering Woodlawn and parts of Wakefield, has a positivity rate of 18.66% for COVID-19 making it the highest of any zip code in the city.
The data is as of December 25th straight through New Year’s Eve on December 31st with 86 people out of 461 testing positive for the coronavirus.
And within our borough it’s not just 10470 but across all corners of the borough the positivity rate is at alarming levels as the second wave takes a grip across the city.
10474 covering Hunts Point has a 16.5% positivity rate followed by 10465 in Country Club and Throggs Neck with a 14.74% positive rate.
Soundview’s 10472 is right behind at 14.65% and Fordham and Kingsbridge’s 10468 at 13.78%
Overall, The Bronx now has the second highest positivity rate in the city at 10.87% during the same time period and second only to Staten Island.
Meanwhile in Manhattan, the positivity rate is almost half the city’s 8.55% and is the lowest of the five boroughs at 4.61%
This is yet another clear indicator that the COVID-19 pandemic battle is unequal across the city particularly in low income areas.
And the numbers are increasing daily. New York City registered 6,106 positive COVID-19 cases on December 28th—the single highest thus far since April 7 of last year which registered a high of 6,260 positive cases and at this rate we are on track to eclipse the record of 6,578 cases on April 6 of 2020.
Hospitalizations and deaths, although nowhere near what they were in the first months of the pandemic, are also on the rise and are at levels unseen since May and June of last year.
Since mid December, on average, over 30 people a day have died due to COVID-19.
We need more aggressive testing with increased, free testing sites across The Bronx to make sure enough people are getting tested.
Knowing your status is part of the battle but we must also enforce mask wearing and social distancing protocols. Just because the vaccine is here doesn’t mean we get to relax. It’s going to be a long time before a sufficient amount of the population is vaccinated in order for herd immunity to kick in.
The rates are increasing and we need to do what we can to stop it before it gets any worse. We’ve been warned for months that this day would come again but here we are because si many people simply put their selfish needs to gather during the holidays before that of the greater good of their friends, loved ones, neighbors, and communities.
We must do better.
