Coronavirus Rates Inch Up In Hell's Kitchen

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — All three Hell's Kitchen ZIP codes have seen an uptick in the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, part of a trend that has alarmed health officials, according to city data released last week.

The data, which includes COVID-19 test results over four weeks up to Oct. 24, shows that positivity rates have risen in 10018, 10019 and 10036, which cover the neighborhood and parts of Central Midtown, compared to the previous four-week period.

The overall rates remain relatively low. The highest rate of the three is 10018, which covers the Garment District and parts of the west thirties, where 1.76 percent of those tested received positive results in the latest four-week period. Positivity rates in 10019 and 10036 were 0.85 and 1.04 percent, respectively.

The rates in all three ZIP codes show an increase from the previous four-week period, most significantly in 10018, where the positivity rate rose by 0.30 percent. That ZIP code is smaller than the other two, however, with 1,082 total residents tested for the virus in the recent period compared to 5,270 people in 10019 and 3,353 in 10036.

Last week's data showed 67 ZIP codes around the city with a positivity rate above 2 percent over those four weeks, according to Gothamist, which first reported on the new data. Sixteen are above 3 percent.

Last month, by contrast, only 20 ZIP codes had rates above two percent, including eight above 3 percent.

Here is a portion of the four-week testing data through Oct. 24 for the three ZIP codes covering Hell's Kitchen:

• 10018: 19 positive cases, 0 deaths, 1.76 percent positivity rate
• 10019: 45 positive cases, 0 deaths, 0.85 percent positivity rate
• 10036: 35 positive cases, 0 deaths, 1.04 percent positivity rate

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he had "real concerns" over the citywide case increase. New York's positivity rate over a seven-day average reached 1.92 percent, which de Blasio called a "meaningful jump" for a measure that has hovered near 1.5 percent for weeks.

"That alone is not a number that would overwhelm us, but the growth is what worries me," he said.

Notably, much of the recent growth has occurred outside of the localized coronavirus clusters and associated testing efforts in Brooklyn and Queens.

Instead, health officials have also seen a slow and steady rise in coronavirus cases in many places around the city, Jay Varma, the city's senior adviser for public health, said Thursday. They haven't identified a specific focal point, but roughly 10 percent of new cases are linked to travel, and various indoor settings have also contributed, Varma said.

"That's why right now our guidance is not about any one specific industry or type of setting, changing its behavior, but it really has to be across the state — wearing a mask, avoiding gatherings, keeping physical distance, particularly as it gets colder and people move indoors," he said.

Matt Troutman contributed to this report.

Related coverage: New Data Show NYC ZIP Codes With High Coronavirus Rates