NYC Brings Back Coronavirus Numbers By ZIP Code

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers can once again see how the coronavirus is affecting their neighborhoods on a day-by-day basis.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that the city will resurrect the release of ZIP code-specific COVID-19 data.

The city stopped publishing such data to avoid confusion with the state's geographically based color-coded "zones."

De Blasio said worrying signs that the coronavirus is reasserting itself prompted officials to bring back the ZIP code data, with some tweaks, to help inform New Yorkers.

The city's positivity level now stands above 2 percent, he said.

"That is a problem," he said. "We have gone well past the threshold for the number of cases we set, the case numbers continue to increase — that is a problem. We're seeing household transmission, we're seeing community spread, we're seeing things we have not seen in a long time, and we have to stop them."

The updated website provides a daily summary of coronavirus cases, the positivity rates over the past seven days by ZIP code and many more specific measurements.

Much of the data is also presented in easy-to-read maps and charts.

The current daily citywide positivity rate stands at 2.36 percent and 2.21 percent over a seven-day average.

Both numbers represent unfortunate milestones for the city; for months, the city's positivity rate stayed below 2 percent.

De Blasio had set the percentage as a threshold for "re-evaluating" indoor dining in the city. He repeated that stance Monday.

The city's average new-case threshold, which officials hoped to keep below 550 cases, now stands at 779 cases.

All the updated numbers show a long-feared coronavirus resurgence is near, and New Yorkers must take steps to prevent it, de Blasio said.

"We’re showing you there is a danger of a second wave in New York City,” he said.

But at least one official said the wave has already struck.

"NYC is not 'approaching a 2nd wave' or 'at risk of a 2nd wave,'" tweeted Council Member Mark Levine, who heads the health committee. "We are in the 2nd wave."

The updated ZIP code numbers can be viewed here.